Second
by ReVampedAlterego13
Summary: Sequel to "First." What will Hermione do when someone she thought was gone forever shows up on her doorstep? EWE
1. Chapter 1

**This is a sequel to "First" and begins where the epilogue ends. This will be longer and fairly angst-y as well but I hope you all still like it. I have always wanted to end "First" with Ron coming back and Hermione having to make a real decision between the two men.**

"Er… Hey, 'Mione. Long time no see, huh?" Ron shrugged.

"Stupefy!" Hermione called out, pointing her wand at Ron as he went rigid and couldn't move.

"Jesus! Hermione, what the fuck?" Draco looked back at her in disbelief.

"Bring him inside." She said quickly making a spot on the couch to lay him on as Draco levitated him inside.

"Hermione, I'm not a fan of your dead exes showing up either but why the hell did you stupefy him?" Draco asked as he lay him softly on the couch.

"This isn't Ron. Ron died, Draco." She seemed extremely distressed. "I was at his funeral. You were at his funeral. I don't know what this is but I'm not trusting whatever this is." She pointed at the motionless figure on the couch.

She strode to the fireplace and threw some floo powder into it. Harry's smiling face floated up, his hair untidy as ever. "Hey Hermione. What's up?"

"Harry, get to my place now. Bring the veritaserum." She disconnected without explanation, knowing that was the fastest way to get Harry to come running. A few minutes later Harry was stepping through the fireplace into her sitting room.

"Hermione, what's going on?" Harry asked panicked. "Why do you need veritaserum? Did Malfoy-" Harry faltered as his eyes fell on the immobile Ron.

"Yeah, not my fault this time." Draco grumbled from his seat near the Ron-imposter. Draco was completely rigid in his chair, staring at Ron with a sour look on his face.

"What is this, Hermione?" Harry looked alarmed. Ron's mouth was slack and his blue eyes shining as they stared at the ceiling.

"He just showed up, so I stupefied him! This person. I don't know who this is!"

"It looks like Ron." Harry pointed out, stupidly. Hermione let out a frustrated huff and stomped her foot in frustration.

"Honestly, Harry! After all we have seen over these years, do you really think this is Ron? He's _dead._ This creep has to be an imposter and we need to know what he is up to." Harry didn't seem as convinced but still listened to Hermione.

"Have you spoken to him?" Harry's eyes hadn't moved off Ron since first spied him. He looked like he was about to be sick.

"Not really, no. We should probably tie him up so we can find out more. I just, I don't know, panicked." Harry nodded, finally tearing his eyes away and quick work of tying Ron up and making sure he wasn't near a wand. Hermione and Harry exchanged pained glances before Hermione released the stunning charm.

"Okay, let's hear it." She set her jaw tight desperately trying to stuff down all the horrible feelings that were threatening to rise.

"Not exactly the welcome I was hoping for." Ron chuckled when he was able to speak.

"Who are you?" Hermione demanded pointing her wand at him.

"I know it's been a while and my hairstyle is a bit different but, I thought you'd at least _recognize_ me." Ron grinned.

"I know who you look like, asshole. I asked who you were." Hermione's eyes narrowed at him.

"Hermione, it's really me." Ron responded softly. He adjusted himself against the ropes he was tied in and looked into her eyes. Hermione desperately tried to look away but couldn't. She had wanted to see those eyes again too badly.

"Ron Weasley died six years ago. I watched him go in the ground." Her voice faltered momentarily. "So, I'll ask you one more time. Who are you?"

"Ronald Bilius Weasley."

"Bilius?" Draco raised an eyebrow in distaste, startling Hermione and Harry who had momentarily forgotten his presence. "This is not the time for jokes, Draco." Hermione spat furiously. "Fine. Harry, the veritaserum." Hermione held out her hand.

"Hermione, you know that the ministry probably wouldn't approve of this."

"Oh, would the ministry _approve_ of us letting _an imposter_ masquerade as a dead auror? Should we let him go Harry?" Hermione sneered. Harry looked reluctant but handed it over.

"It's okay, I'll take it willingly if it means I can get out of these ropes. Though admittedly, I should probably be used to it by now." Ron agreed. Hermione's heart sank. Was this really Ron? She studied him for a moment. He looked so much older than he had the last time she had seen him. He was a tattered mess and had grey streaking his normally orange man. The hair she had loved so much was tangled and matted with dirt. His face looked hollow and there were bags under his eyes. Did polyjuice work on dead people? Did it age the dead person when taken? She made mental notes to read everything she could about the topic later.

"You heard him!" Hermione snapped at Harry. She was doing her best not to cry at the sight before her. How long had she wished that this could happen? How long had she yearned to see his face again? Hear his voice?

Harry uncorked the bottle and held it to the other man's mouth and he watched as his eyes glazed over a bit.

"What is your name?" Harry asked.

"Ronald Bilius Weasley."

"How are you here? You're supposed to be dead."

"I'm not dead. That's what they wanted you to think."

"Who?"

"I don't know their names." Hermione huffed.

"This is bullshit! He has clearly developed an immunity to veritaserum. I've read that some of Voldemort's followers did that to avoid Azkaban!" Harry quickly exchanged concerned looks with Draco.

"Hermione, let's talk for a second." Harry started to pull her into a different room.

"No!" Hermione tugged herself away from him, nearly hysterical at this point. She didn't want to believe this was Ron. _Her Ron_. It couldn't be. She searched her mind for all the information she could think of on how to lie while taking veritaserum but the panic was rising. She felt Draco's stand up from the chair next to her.

"Hermione." She heard his voice but could barely register what he was saying. "Maybe we should call the ministry?" Draco suggested putting his hand on her shoulder lightly.

"No!" Hermione's eyes shot up at him. "No! I want to take care of this myself." She raised her wand towards Ron, who's eyes went wide. Draco grabbed her wrist.

"Granger, don't." He shook his head. "Please put it down." His voice was calm, comforting. Hermione refused to let her wand out of her hand but lowered it, her fingers clutched around it and growing white. "The ministry can run all the necessary tests to prove if he is who he says he is." Hermione kept shaking her head.

"Malfoy's right." Harry said softy. "Hermione, we are too close to this. We need to let the ministry take care of this." Hermione finally conceded.

"Fine. Just get him out of my sight." Hermione yelled as she strode out of the room into her bedroom and slammed the door.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey all! I was so happy to see so many follows and favorite so for this new story! I'm going to be honest, I really don't know who I'm shipping in this story and am taking it one day at a time. I hope I hear more from you all soon! Please review! I love to hear how I can improve!**

Hermione quickly cast a muffliato charm on the door and fell to her knees. The second they hit the floor, she was bawling. She couldn't stop herself. She knew Harry and Draco were right, this was something The Ministry of Magic should handle but it still didn't feel right to her. Ron couldn't be back. He just couldn't. Not now that she had moved on; not now that she had finally let him go. She lifted a shaking hand to wipe her tears but they continued to pour out of her relentlessly. How was this going to affect her and Draco? How could she deny the flutter she had felt in her chest seeing Ron again? _It didn't matter,_ she thought, _because this wasn't Ron._

Hermione sprang up from the floor and searched her bookshelf for anything that could explain more about Polyjuice Potion and the cases in which it had been used with a deceased person's DNA. She scanned her fingers across the titles until she found one on advanced potions and their uses. Sitting down in the plush burgundy chair next to her mountain of books, she remembered that Ron had been the one to buy this chair. He had been so excited to buy it. He said it reminded him of school where he had fallen in love with her. Quickly, as if to erase the thought, she flipped to the index and ran her finger down the list of potions until she found "Polyjuice" in the contents. Trying her best to focus on the task at hand, she began reading the book until she heard a knock on the door.

"Hermione." Draco peeked in slowly and her heart sank. He grey eyes looked extremely anxious but his face looked calm as though he were trying to hide any other emotions. "I'm going to help Harry take him to the ministry." She could tell he was avoiding calling him, 'Ron.' "Are you going to be okay here? Do you want to come?"

"Malfoy, I have way too research to do right now. I couldn't possibly deal with that right now." She said sternly. Draco nodded looking hurt but remained silent. Fresh tears threatened to spill over her eyes as she realized she was intentionally pushing him away. She hadn't called him by his surname in ages.

"I'm sorry Draco." She said, softening her voice. "I just want to finish this section on Polyjuice Potion."

"Hermione," he stepped inside the bedroom cautiously and approached her. "I know you don't want to believe this is him, but I think you should consider that it might be Ron."

"Don't say his name!" She shrieked pulling away from him. "No! It's not him!" She stood up and threw the book on the chair. "It's NOT! Draco, I-I-it can't be." She felt manic. She felt out of control and unable to express how terrified she was that it might actually be Ron in her living room. She couldn't explain it to him, not without hurting him.

"Okay." He reached out to comfort her but she pulled away from his touch. She knew he didn't believe her. She didn't even believe herself. She snatched her book up and plopped back down on the chair, ignoring him until he solemnly retreated from the room.

Draco sighed as he left Hermione's bedroom. He knew why Hermione didn't want to believe it was Ron and it was the same reason he had for wishing she was right. He selfishly wondered, 'If Ron was back, what happens to us?' Personally, he didn't think this was an imposter. Hermione had been right, some Death Eaters did try to immunize themselves from the effects of veritaserum but he only knew of a few who knew how to resist it's effects. As he walked into the living room, Harry met his eyes questioningly. Draco shook his head to confirm that Hermione wouldn't be joining them.

"Okay Weasley, lets get this over with." Draco said gently lifting him up from the couch as the ropes were still restricting his movements. Draco could tell he was going to have to take the lead on getting Ron to The Ministry as Hermione and Harry were barely responsive. Harry hadn't moved from his spot near Ron and was staring at his hands.

"Hey! You called me Weasley!" Ron looking hopeful, a ghost of a grin passing over his face.

"Yes, because despite what my fiancée thinks, I don't think you're an imposter." Draco couldn't help himself from casually mentioning that him and Hermione were in a relationship now.

"Your fiancée?" Ron looked at him puzzled before a look of recognition crossed his face. "You and Hermione are-" Ron started to ask.

"Engaged, yeah." _For now,_ Draco thought bitterly. "Come on, Potter." Harry, who had silently watched the exchange looking uneasy, got to his feet and grabbed Ron's other side.

"Come on, mate, you don't have anything to say? No congratulations for Malfoy and Hermione?" Ron was trying to joke but his voice was strained.

"I was there, unlike you" Draco heard Harry mutter. "Ron, where were you?" he whispered.

"It's a long story," he replied sadly flicking his eyes at Draco before looking back at Harry. Ron's upbeat facade was beginning to fade.

"By the smell of you, it seems like it." Draco replied causing Ron to laugh lightly as they were walking outside to apparate to the Ministry. "Are you able to apparate?" Draco checked.

"It's been years but I think I can manage."

"Good." Draco made sure they were all touching before apparating them to the ministry. He quickly walked them to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement to avoid running into the may prying eyes of the ministry.

"Potter!" Kingsley's voice boomed as they approached. "I thought I told you to take the weekend off?"

"Er, I tried. Er-Well, we need help." Kingsley looked alarmed until his eyes focused on the scraggly mess they were carrying.

"Ronald?" Kingsley looked shocked.

"Hey, sir," he replied sheepishly.

"Potter, what is this?" Harry quickly explained what had happened at Hermione's house and Kingsley ushered them into his office to avoid anyone else seeing them. It didn't help that both Ron's brother and father worked in the building.

".. so we used veritaserum on him and he says he is Ron but Hermione has some doubts. Something about people being able to beat the potion."

"Well, it is true that we don't use it in criminal trials any longer. People are rarely able to beat the potion but it happens. Where is Ms. Granger?"

"Probably the library." Draco and Ron said in unison before uncomfortably returning to silence. Kingsley raised his eyebrows at Harry who shrugged.

"Right. Well, you certainly seem like Auror Weasley but lets run a few tests." Kingsley flicked his wand to unbind Ron. Ron remained seated but let out a sigh of relief as the ropes fell off. "Now, that's better. Sir, we are going to administer a couple of tests now. We are going to, with your permission, extract some memories to verify you are who you say you are. We will also need to closely monitor you over the next few days. Not only to prove you aren't taking polyjuice potion but also to make sure you get checked by a Healer. Would that be alright?" Ron silently nodded in agreement. "After which, we will need your official statement on why you have been AWOL from the ministry for six years and why we had a military funeral for a fake corpse."

Draco couldn't help feeling that Weasley was getting off easier than most people would in his position. Most people would have to explain immediately where they had been but he supposed that was the benefit you get when you were part of 'The Golden Trio.' The thought made him sick.

Kingsley wrote down a note that folded itself into a paper airplane and went whizzing out his office door. Moments later, a squat woman by the name of Emily Habersham entered the room carrying a case of empty vials for extracting memories. Ron started to look worried.

"Which memories are you going to extract?" He gulped, his knuckles turning white as he gripped the chair.

"Anything you think may be pertinent to this case so think hard about those you want extracted and nothing else. We don't want the memories to be confused." Ron nodded as Emily stepped toward him shutting his eyes to focus. Draco watched transfixed as silky streams of memories were pulled from Ron's temple.

"Great job." Emily smiled kindly, patting Ron on the shoulder. "Sir, would you like me to accompany him to St. Mungos?" She asked looking at Kingsley.

"I'll do it," grunted Harry, standing up and suddenly Draco felt very out of place.

"Ah, yeah, I should probably go as well. You got it?" Draco asked.

"Yeah, thanks Draco." Harry held out his hand to shake Draco's who took it in return before heading for the door.

"Stop by and see Hermione soon?" Draco turned and looked at Harry and then Ron. "Both of you?"

"I might be back tonight or it might be tomorrow. Watch for my owl." Harry replied. Draco turned to Kingsley, "Good evening, Minister." And with that, he left to search for Hermione.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey all! Thanks for the reviews! One author note: This** _ **is**_ **primarily an HG/DM fic but there will still be HG/RW moments as I imagine Hermione's not in the easiest position right now. It's not realistic for her to completely be objective.**

Draco apparated back to Hermione's house only to find it empty except for a hasty note she had left on the table.

 _At the Ministry Library._

 _-Hermione_

 _Brilliant,_ he thought. There was no indication of when she would be back. No words of affection. He hastily wrote that he was going to the Manor and that she should join if she was back early enough but he know she wouldn't. She wouldn't be back that night and maybe not the next night either. She'd fall asleep at her desk looking for any excuse to prove that Ron wasn't back. Draco sighed, wrote a new note, and sent it with Hermione's owl to Blaise.

 _Need to talk- meet me at the Manor._

 _-DM_

Draco stepped out of Hermione's house and apparated a block away to the Manor. Once inside, he made a beeline to his study and opened a bottle of brandy. Not stopping to fill the glass, he took a swig out of the bottle. Setting down the bottle, he leaned over his desk and let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. It hadn't been 24 hours yet since Weasley was back and he already knew there were problems with him and Hermione. She was already avoiding him. He grabbed a glass near him and launched it at the door out of anger.

"Fucking Weasley!" He shouted angrily before flicking his wand to repair the glass and summoning it back to him to fill with brandy.

"Er-it's just Blaise?" A voice said as his study door opened. "You okay, mate?"

"No." Draco responded surly, sitting at his desk. "Weasley is back."

"Which Weasley? You know there are like, a hundred of them, right?" Blaise cocked an eyebrow and taking a seat across from Draco.

"Ron Weasley." Draco looked down at his glass.

"Come off it, that's not funny." Blaise replied seriously and began to fill his own glass.

"Do you see me laughing?"

"Wait." Blaise leaned forward, setting his glass down on the desk. "You're serious?"

"Yes, provided that the ministry can prove he is who he says he is. Which, I think they will be able to."

"Where the fuck has he been in six years?" Blaise asked incredulously and then more seriously, "Who did we bury?" Draco shrugged.

"I didn't really stick around for answers to be honest."

"What about Hermione? Where is she? Why aren't you with her?" Blaise was obviously questioning him as a partner.

"She is at the Ministry researching how someone could be posing as Weasley." He rolled his eyes and took another sip of his drink.

"She doesn't think it's him?"

"More like she doesn't want it to be him. Probably because she doesn't want to have to figure out how to end things with me." Draco looked down at his glass, pitying himself. Blaise reached across the table and slapped him in the back of the head.

"What the fuck, Blaise?" Draco squinted and rubbed the back of his head.

"This isn't about you Draco!" Blaise was clearly angry. "Sure, it's not an ideal situation but come off it. She's allowed to be weird for a second. Don't you remember how they used to be? Weasley and Granger were inseparable. This is someone she spent months _surviving_ with. This is someone she's seen almost die countless times, someone who has saved her life. She is allowed to feel however she wants. You just need to support her. Don't make this about you." Draco clenched his jaw but didn't respond. "I'm serious, Draco."

They sat in silence for a minute while Draco thought about what Blaise had said and sipped on his brandy. He knew he had been thinking selfishly but it didn't stop the worry he was feeling. It especially didn't help that he and Hermione had only been together a year, which felt like nothing compared to the history she had with Weasley.

"You're right. Sorry." Draco grunted. Draco knew Blaise was right but he couldn't help but feel that he was too.

Ron and Harry walked in silence to St. Mungo's. Ron was exhausted, shuffling his feet as they walked and fighting sleep the whole way. He knew now that he should have gone to the ministry first but once he had made it back to London, he hadn't wanted to see anyone besides her. Hermione. It was almost like his body had pulled him to their house. He should have known that they would have faked his death to prevent anyone looking for him. He should have known after six years, it was unlikely Hermione wouldn't be suspicious when he showed up on their doorstep but he hadn't been able to think of anything besides seeing her face again. And now that he had, he regretted it. The look of pure hatred she had had during her brief interrogation of him had crushed him in ways he was refusing to show.

"You know Hermione is almost certainly at the library researching concealment charms and polyjuice potions right now."

"I know," Ron replied flatly. Harry stopped walking and turned to look at him.

"I believe you Ron." Harry awkwardly wrapped Ron in a hug and Ron jumped. He didn't know what to do. It'd been a long time since someone had been physically affectionate with him.

"Thanks, Harry. Trust me, I wish I wasn't me right now."

"I know the feeling." Harry and Ron chuckled as they walked on. "You know you're going to have to tell Hermione and I what happened. Not now, but, we have to know. You know that right?"

"Yeah." Ron looked down. "Yeah, I know." They continued walking before Ron quietly added, "So, Malfoy and Hermione…"

"Yeah, er-We don't have to talk about that if you don't want to." Harry said hastily.

"How long?"

"Er- like a year or so?" Ron nodded, not saying anything. He had always figured Hermione would move on but he had hoped she hadn't. How many nights had he lay looking at the ceiling of his cell trying to conjure an image of her up late reading, her laughing at his jokes. Every night he had prayed to dream of her. He prayed to retreat into a world where were they were alone again.

"You and Ginny?"

"Married." Harry waved his finger at him to show his wedding band. "We have one on the way."

"Wow. And mom? George and F-? George." Ron corrected, shaking his head.

"Everyone is alive and well." Harry put his hand on Ron's back and guided him into the hospital. He left Ron by the wall and asked the first employee he saw for Healer Longbottom. Moments later, Neville was bouncing out into the corridor looking for Harry.

"Harry! Is everything okay?" Neville asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"Neville, I need you to treat a patient but I need you to be quiet about it. Can you do that?"

"You know I can Harry. Are they here?" Neville looked around the waiting room and spotted a homeless-looking man by the wall. His eyes moved quickly past him not seeing that he was Ron.

"Yeah, can you show us to a room? Come on Ron." Harry motioned for Ron to follow him and Neville's eyes widened but he said nothing. Once in the room, Neville asked Ron if he would like a bath before he examined him. An immediate yes escaped Ron's lips. Neville showed him into the adjoining bathroom and let him know he would be right outside if he needed anything.

Ron peeled away the dirty layers he was wearing and let them fall to the ground. He had never been more excited for a bath. As he lowered himself into the tub, he watched as the water turned brown and then clear again. He had forgotten that the Mungo's tubs washed away dirt and bacteria immediately and refilled with clean, herb-filled water. He relaxed, setting his head against the back of the tub and closed his eyes. Running his hands over his arms he felt his skin under the pads of his fingers. It didn't feel like it was him anymore now that he was marked with various bruises and scars. His mind flashed back to his vicious beatings.

" _Blood traitor." WHACK! "After all this time." WHACK! "You disgust me." WHACK!_

Ron's eyes flew open and breathed in. He pulled his long legs up to his chest placing his forehead on his knees. "You're not there. You're not there. You're not there." He repeated, rocking lightly and trying to concentrate on his breathing. Once his panic subsided he began to scrub himself, trying not to look at the marks staining his body.

His hair was by far the dirtiest part of him. He dunked his head in the water and ran his fingers through it picking out leaves and twigs that were stuck in the tangles. The water once again turned brown to clear and Ron wondered exactly how much dirt was on him. After he finished shampooing, his hair until it was no longer a ruddy, burnt orange but back to its natural violent orange. It was so long now that he could put Bill's mane to shame. The feeling of running a comb through his hair cause tears to spring in his eyes unexpectedly. It was just such a normal thing to do after six years of so much pain.

"Get it together Ron." he told himself putting on the robe Neville had left him. He walked to see Harry sitting in a chair next to a hospital bed. Neville was not there.

"Neville will be back in a minute." Harry said as Ron climbed into the bed. Ron nodded and stared up at the ceiling out of habit and Harry remained quiet. He always appreciated that Harry never had to fill the silence with talking.

By the time Neville returned, Ron had counted 78 tiles in the ceiling. "Do you want me to leave?" Harry asked to which Ron shook his head.

"Okay Ron," Neville said, "In order for me to treat you, you'll have to tell me a bit about your physical condition since you've been missing. I will need you to kindly step on the scale for me." He pointed to a magic scale next the the bed and Ron gingerly stepped onto it. "If at any point, you feel uncomfortable or want to stop, let me know."

"Fifty-five kilograms." Neville said aloud. Even Ron, who'd always been thin, knew this was unhealthy. His hand unconsciously felt the hollow of his stomach. His mother was going to lose it when she saw him. "So, you are underweight but it's nothing we can't fix." Neville pulled out some chocolate and handed it to Ron who nibbled at it tentatively. Harry had never seen Ron hesitate to eat before and it disturbed him.

"Okay, I'm going to do a full body scan. I just need you to lie back on the bed here." Neville pulled out his wand and hovered it over Ron.

"It looks like you've had several broken bones that have healed incorrectly and some nerve damage from-"

"The Cruciatus Curse. Yeah." Ron finished his sentence. Harry felt like he was going to be sick at the thought. He had expected Ron to look better after his bath but without the dirty rags on, he could now see how truly terrible Ron looked. His gaunt, skeletal frame was something out of a muggle horror film. His eyes were red from lack of sleep and his eyelids, 's pale blue veins were visible under his translucent skin and he could see his bones sticking sickly out from under his skin.

"Right." Neville didn't look much better but kept his voice upbeat nonetheless. "You'll have to stay here a few days so that we can heal you but after that, you'll be able to go home."

"Wherever that is." Neville didn't respond. He just handed him a sleeping draught sadly and watched as Ron drifted to sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

"Hermione." She jumped at her name. She had dozed off in the library reading up on concealment charms. As her eyes adjusted she Harry was standing over her wearing a look of concern. "Hermione. You need to go see Ron."

"Who?" She replied, not meeting Harry's eyes, and stacking her books up to return them.

"Hermione. I'm serious. He's not doing well. You know it's him." Harry grabbed her arm to stop her from distracting herself.

"I don't know that. I still have quite a few things to look up before I'm convinced."

"Hermione. I think if it's convincing enough for the Minister of Magic, you should give this up." Harry waved his hand over to her research table.

"Oh, because the Minister of Magic has never been wrong before."

"Hermione, stop."

"I'm not ready!" Hermione slammed the books down on the table and without warning, started to cry. Harry looked at her helplessly and awkwardly patted her back.

"Hermione. Please. I know this is hard. It's hard for all of us. Neville was examining him and, I felt sick looking at him. Hermione, he looks like shit." Hermione wiped her eyes.

"Is it that bad?"

"He weighs less than nine stone." Hermione almost gagged at the thought of Ron's tall frame supporting so little weight.

"Where is he?"

"St. Mungo's but it's after visiting hours." He looked at her a bit mischievously before pulling out his invisibility cloak. She smirked and took it.

"Remember when we were all able to fit under this thing?" She said looking at it frowning and cast a spell that reshelved her books for her.

"It's hard to believe." Harry replied as they walked out of the library.

"He's in 406." Harry told her.

"Wait, you're not coming?"

"No, I think you guys need time to talk or, whatever." Nodding, she disappeared under the cloak.

It was difficult to navigate the hospital without being seen or bumped into. She had to wait ten minutes for someone to need to use the elevator before she slipped in and made it to the fourth floor. Once there, the hallways were relatively empty so she was able to quickly sneak to his room. Slowly she opened the door and managed to get inside without being seen. She pulled off the cloak and looked over at Ron sleeping.

He looked nearly emaciated now that he was out of the clothes he had been wearing. His arms were now tiny twigs that looked capable of being crushed by a child. His cheeks were sunken in like a skeleton with dark purple circles under his eyes. She was overwhelmed with the desire to touch him. Walking as quietly as she could manage, she reached his bed. Hesitating, she hovered over him, barely breathing as she brushed her fingers against his cheek. Ron's eyes flew open and he grabbed her wrist quickly. She gasped but didn't move. She just stared back at him until he closed his eyes and brought her hand to his mouth. Her knuckles brushed his chapped lips and she visibly shivered.

"Am I dreaming?" He asked keeping his eyes closed.

"No." She whispered and his eyes fluttered open. Their eyes met again. "Oh Ron, I'm so sorry!" She pulled her hand back and glanced toward the door. Ron bemoaned the loss of contact.

"It's okay."

"It's not! I'm so sorry I didn't believe you. I just-"

"Come here." Hermione didn't think, she just responded. She laid down next to him and rested her head on his chest, fanning her hand over his abdomen. Her thumb began to trace the outlines of his ribs and with that movement, Ron felt brave enough to wrap his arm around her. There was something about being surrounded by her scent and feeling her weight on him that made him feel safer than he had in years. They lay there for awhile not saying anything, just taking in the presence of each other after so long. After some time, Ron felt his chest becoming damp and craned his neck to look at her.

"Hermione?" He asked.

"I missed you so much." Hermione half sobbed into his chest her shoulders shaking and before she knew what she was doing she had kissed him. It wasn't a particularly passionate kiss just a quick peck on his lips, barely longer than a few seconds but he ached for more. Before he got a chance to deepen it, she was already laying back on his chest.

"Gods 'Mione, I missed you more." He brought his lips to the top of her head and kissed her curls, breathing in deeply. And that's how Draco found them the the next day, wrapped in each others arms.

Draco tried to stuff down his jealousy when he walked into Ron's room the next day and he saw Hermione laying with him. She had not updated him on where she was but he figured that since she hadn't been at her house this morning or the Ministry library, he thought there was a good chance she came here. What he had _not_ expected was to walk in and see his fiancee cuddling another man. _It's not about you._ Blaise's voice pounded in his head. He wondered how Blaise ever gave good advice when his personal life was such shit but in that moment, he realized he had no other option than to be patient. With everyone. He spent a long time last night thinking about how things would change now that Weasley was back. He knew that no matter what, there were going to be things that made him uncomfortable. He would do himself no favors acting bratty. Which is why, instead of dumping cold water on the pair, he gently shook Hermione awake.

"Hey. I brought you some coffee." He whispered. Hermione looked frazzled and confused as to how Draco was standing there. She looked over at the sleeping body next to her and pink spread across her cheeks. She said nothing as she climbed out of the bed and Draco handed her the coffee. He jerked his head toward the door so they could talk and not disturb Ron.

"How's he doing?" Draco asked calmly. Hermione searched his eyes for any sign that he was upset. He remained stoic, not mentioning how he found them.

"Not great I don't think. He's basically skin and bones." Hermione said taking a sip of the coffee. "I snuck a peek at his chart, he's been tortured. A lot, most likely. His bones didn't heal correctly, there are signs of him being tortured by the Cruciatus."

"Has he talked to you about what happened yet?" Hermione shook her head. "Well hopefully the memories Kingsley pulled are enough for now. I also had Kingsley permit you a leave of absence while Ron is recovering."

"But-" Hermione began to protest that she needed to work.

"Hermione, you've done enough for England. You can take a few weeks off for this. Ron needs you right now." Hermione was flabbergasted by how Draco was reacting. She figured he would be in a rage over the fact that she had spent the night with Ron but all he was being was supportive.

"Are you alright?" Hermione asked.

"I've been better." Draco admitted. "How are you?" He pulled her in for a hug and kissed her forehead. Hermione guiltily thought about her kiss with Ron last night and tucked it away to think about later.

"I've been better." Hermione laughed into his chest. "Have you spoken to Harry?"

"Yeah, I'm meeting him later to talk to Ron's family about this. He was going to tell them alone but I talked him out of that. Too many Weasleys and too many questions for one man." It didn't surprise her that Draco had volunteered for this task. He had grown incredibly close to the Weasley clan over the last year; so close, in fact, that he had proposed to Hermione at The Burrow.

"Why are you so perfect?" Hermione asked. Draco's eyebrow twitched.

"Eh, it's just sort of my thing." Hermione rolled her eyes. "Do you want to come in?" She opened the door and he followed her in. Ron was awake when they entered and sitting surily on the the bed.

"Look at you!" Malfoy exclaimed as Ron looked up. "You look like Bill with that hair!"

"Yeah, he should get me a matching fang earring for my homecoming present." Ron responded gruffly sitting up.

"How are you feeling?" Hermione asked touching his shoulder.

"Like shit." Ron rubbed his eyes and leaned back into his pillow. He had been a bit miffed that Hermione had left him and come back with Draco. _He is her fiance,_ he reminded himself. He also tried to remind himself that he and Draco had been friends before he was kidnapped. "Has anyone spoken to mom?"

"I'm going over there with Harry later to talk to them." Draco replied.

"Why?" Ron asked before he could stop himself.

"Ron, Draco is quite close with your family now. Also, I highly doubt you would want Harry to have to deal with that on his own." Ron didn't respond. He felt anger rising in his chest. He had never had a great handle on his temper but it had somehow worsened recently.

"So, let me get this straight. While I was fighting for my life over the last six years, Draco not only took my girlfriend, but my family too. Gee, Malfoy I never knew you were so interested in what was mine." Hermione went white but Draco sneered at him.

"Weasley. I'm going to let that one go because you are obviously in shock, but I haven't done a damn thing wrong. I won't be the one you take your anger out on." He walked out of the room and Hermione hesitated before following him.

"Draco, I'm so sorry. I-"

"Hermione, it's not your fault. Hell, it's not even his fault! I would be mad too! I did sort of steal his life. I have you and I _am_ close to his family. I am just not going to make his recovery worse by staying here right now. I will, however, still tell his family with Harry unless you think I shouldn't?"

"No, Harry needs help." She insisted. "I'd go but-"

"But you need to stay here. It's okay, I understand. Let me know if you need anything in the meantime?" She nodded. "I love you, Hermione," he leaned over and gave her a kiss on the cheek before walking away. She stared after him for a minute and made a mental note to stay with him at the manor tonight.

As she walked back into her room, she saw Ron was no longer in bed. He had wrapped a blanket around him and was examining his chest in the mirror.

"...13, 14, 15…" he trailed off as she came in, lowering his shirt. "I'm sorry. I just, I get so angry sometimes and I can't stop myself." He wrung his hands nervously. "It's not his fault and he really is a good bloke…"

"He's not mad." Hermione stated silencing him. "What were you doing just now?"

"Counting." Ron walked forlornly to his bed and got back in.

"Counting?"

"Scars." Ron looked out the window of his room. It was magicked to look like a rain forest.

"May I see?" Hermione asked lifting his gown to see his chest as he silently agreed. His entire torso was covered with new nicks and scars from previous cuts and beatings. Her fingers traced along the healed wounds causing Ron to breathe deeply and close his eyes. She looked at him resting, and continued to touch the scars lightly. Ron had always had beautiful, freckled, pale skin.

"Do you remember when you used to count my freckles?" Ron asked, his eyes still closed.

"Yes, I think I made it over 200 once." He let out a soft laugh.

"I used to do that to pass the time while I was-while I was away. Eventually, it felt like there were more scars than freckles, so I switched to counting those." Hermione tried desperately not to cry. "Harry told me you've been with Draco, for a year?" Ron looked at her and she nodded. "I wish I had been able to get away a year ago." He looked away and back out of the window. And before she could stop herself she thought, _Me too._


	5. Chapter 5

**First off, can I say I love these reviews! Please keep them coming! I love seeing everyone's thoughts on how this should end. I just wanted to note that while I'm a Dramione shipper for life, I needed to write a fic that didn't make Ron the bad guy for once. Don't worry, Dramione Darlings, there is more of DM/HG to come. Ron's only been back for a couple of days!**

" _Get up blood traitor. It's time for your physical." Ron pulled himself up from the ground trying not to stumble from weakness. The manacles on his wrists were chafing again and he winced as the iron rubbed his raw flesh. The man yanked him forward making the manacles clink. Ron couldn't help but feel like that sound was always jarring. He never got used to it. The sounds of slavery._

 _Ron had memorized the hallway from his cell to the doctor's chambers so well that he knew how many tiles there were in the floor, how many bricks lined each side of the wall. He knew also knew where to avoid stepping so that the floor didn't scrape his bare feet. As they reached the green door, Ron felt simultaneously ill and exhausted. As the guard knocked, Ron stared at the peeling gold letters of the door, "Medical Office." Ron snorted at the idea that they thought were doing here was medically sound, torturing and experimenting on 'traitorous purebloods.'_

" _Ah, Mr. Weasley. Come in." The doctor was beaming, which he knew from experience didn't bode well for him. That typically meant he was in for some more psychological torture the effects of which always lasted days. "How are you feeling today?" Ron stayed silent._

" _Answer you dirty blood traitor!" The guard screamed pulling at his chains again. Ron sucked in air through his teeth as the skin on his wrists were peeled away by the chains. "Answer your superiors!"_

" _Well, I'm chained and being held by radical blood purists. So, I'd say I've been better." Ron knew this small act of defiance would cost him and a second later a blow had landed on his head knocking him to the ground. He gasped for air as the guard's kick landed in his gut. From his spot on the floor he saw the doctor staring down at him, smiling wickedly..._

Ron woke with a start, panting and riddled with anxiety.

"Ron! Are you-" Ron held up his hand and retched into the closest container he could find. He vomited violently as the memory washed over him. He closed his eyes and rested his head on the rim of the bowl before setting it next to him and laying back.

"Ron. I'm getting Neville." Hermione told him.

"No. It's okay. Just a bad dream." Ron rubbed his forehead. "I'm used to them. Don't bother him." Hermione looked at him with concern but remained seated. She brushed some of his hair out of his face noticing it was damp with sweat.

"What did they do to you Ron?" She asked more to herself than him.

"Everything but kill me."

"Thank god for small miracles." Hermione smiled. Ron wasn't sure he agreed. How was he going to ever be able to talk about what happened? Kingsley hadn't contacted him yet but he was sure they had reviewed his memories. He had been desperately tired when they had extracted them and he hoped he had been mentally strong enough to keep them from seeing too much of it. He felt ashamed of what they had done to him. Sometimes, it had felt like he hadn't even owned his own body anymore. His mind raced with flashes of memories being strapped to a table, being thrown into a cell, eating scraps of food off of dirty plates just trying to survive. He felt disgusted with himself.

"Ron? What can I do?"

"Obliviate me?" He half-joked.

"Now come on, if I did that who would beat me at Wizard's Chess?" Hermione pulled a set from her bag and waved it at him.

"Draco?" he suggested. Draco had always been a fair match for him in chess.

"Ew. No. Too competitive. He has no patience for it." Hermione frowned. "You know Slytherins, they've always gotta win." She rolled her eyes and waved her hand dismissively. Ron smiled a little. "Oh yeah, that's what I want to see!" She said commenting on his smile. "Now, are you going sit up so we can play or what?" Ron sat up and gestured to the table in front of him so Hermione could take a seat at the foot of his bed.

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"Hermione, you are awful at wizard chess." Ron exclaimed after he took her king for the third time. "How can you be so brilliant at everything but strategy?"

"I'm strategic! I plan!" She feigned shock putting her hand over her heart. Ron looked at her doubtfully. "Excuse me, you and Harry would have been hopeless without me."

"We did okay without you.. Um.. sometime, I'm sure."

"Uh-huh."

"Shut up," he rolled his eyes and they both laughed. Ron had warmed up a bit in the last hour and Hermione was relieved.

"Oh! I forgot!" Hermione reached into her bag. "When you were asleep earlier, I left for a bit and put this together." She handed it over to him. It was a book with news clippings in it. Ron opened the orange cover slowly. Inside there were pages filled with Quidditch news for the last 6 years, all featuring The Chudley Cannons. Ron's mouth fell open.

"Hermione, this is-AMAZING!" For the first time since he had shown up, he looked genuinely happy. "Thank you." He pulled her into a hug and kissed her on the cheek. Hermione blushed.

"It's nothing. I just thought you'd want to find out what your team has been up to."

"I love it." He flipped through the book looking only at the pictures first. "Is that Ginny!?" He exclaimed and pointed to a picture of the Holyhead Harpies. Hermione craned her head to look at it better and giggled.

"Yes, she played for them for awhile."

"Wow. I've really missed a lot." He said sadly.

"Oh, Ron, I didn't mean to upset you."

"No, no, I know. I love it." He put his hand over his heart. "I really do. I am just feeling a bit out of place lately. Everything has changed."

"Not everything, Ron." She put her hand over his.

"Oh yeah, like what?"

"Well, I still suck at wizard's chess for one." Ron laughed.

"Fair point." He turned back to the book and Hermione opened a book of her own. They continued to read, making comments to one another every now and then for the next couple of hours until they heard a knock on the door. Jet black hair peeked in.

"Hey Ron, your family is here. Are you ready to see them." Ron set the book down and nodded.

"Ronald!" Hermione duck out of the way as Molly Weasley charged toward him throwing herself on him. "Mum, I'm fragile." Ron complained, his eyes widening as he looked at Harry and Hermione standing by the door and pleaded for help. Harry shrugged and Hermione laughed. Hermione leaned toward Harry, "Is Draco here?"

"No, he said he didn't want to upset Ron, so he went back to your place." Hermione turned back to watch the Weasley's taking turns suffocating Ron. Mrs. Weasley was crying and doting over him. "How are they feeding you? Are your pillows fluffy enough? You look much too thin. I brought you some stew and some pastries."

"Yes, mum. They are treating me really well here. Thank you."

"I brought you some photo albums." She said pulling a stack out of her bag and setting it next to his bed.

"Thanks mum." Mrs Weasley smiled and brushed his hair out his face tenderly. Hermione couldn't imagine how she felt at that moment, getting one of her sons back.

In that moment, standing next to Harry and with a room full of Weasleys and Ron, she was nineteen again. Ron's mother was fussing over his hair now, and Ron kept making eye contact with her in between conversations with his family and she suddenly felt guilty being there. She was engaged. She needn't be indulging in thoughts about Ron. She needed to get out of there, away from her feelings for Ron and away from her past and back into the present.

She caught Ron's eye and mouthed that she was going to leave. He narrowed his eyes and mouthed, "Why?" She mouthed, "I'll be back tomorrow" and headed for the hallway and outside the hospital. Turning on her heel, she apparated a few blocks from her home.

She loved Draco, not Ron she told herself. It's natural to have some residual feelings for him right? She felt guilty about how much she had enjoyed sleeping with Ron again. It had felt like part of her that was missing was finally given back to her. She shook her head and thought of Draco. Her handsome, brilliant fiancee. He had changed her life so much in the last six years. He challenged her to work harder, be better; he challenged her to be more adventurous, step out of her comfort zones and believe in herself. She looked at the ring on her left finger and sighed as she walked into her house.

Draco was sitting at the kitchen table reading, his brow furrowed with concentration. A small strand of hair had come out of place and was blocking her view of his stormy grey eyes. It irked her sometimes how perfect he always looked. Even now, he was wearing a t-shirt and shorts and they fit him like they were made just for him. His taut arm muscles rippled as he turned the pages of his book. She stood watching him for a moment appreciating how wonderful he really was. He looked up at her as she leaned in the doorway.

"How's Ron?" He asked thoughtfully but Hermione didn't want to talk about Ron. She threw herself into Draco's arms and crushed her lips to his.

"Hermione, are you okay?" He pulled away. She grabbed him again and responded by kissing him. "Hermione. Don't get me wrong I always want you, but are you okay?"

"Please Draco. I just need to not think for a moment. I just need you. Please." She looked desperate. Draco searched her eyes for a moment before tentatively bringing his lips back to hers. Her arms snaked around his neck drawing him closer and he could feel her urgency. He felt her raw need pulsating through him. He lifted her from the floor, wrapping her thighs around his hips and carried her to the bedroom, his lips not leaving hers.

He gently placed her on the ground before pressing her roughly against the wall, his hips grinding into her. Hermione's mouth parted as she moaned against his lips. His fingers dug into her hips and he realized he needed this just as badly as she did. They had barely had a second alone in days. He needed the reassurance of her presence. Hermione threw her shirt and bra off coming back to kiss him and ripping at his t-shirt. He moved away from her to allow her to pull it over his head. Hermione placed her hand on his chest and felt his smooth skin underneath her palm. She had a momentary flash of Ron's sickenly marred torso that caused her to pause.

"Is everything alright?" Draco asked, panting.

"Yes," Hermione pushed him back onto the bed, shedding the rest of her clothes as she walked toward him. She straddled him relishing that only a thin piece of fabric was between them. She reached between them to stroke him and began tugging his shorts. Moving her hips urgently, she rocked against him, sheathing him inside. Draco groaned and dug his fingers into her hair. He pulled it back, exposing her throat as he growled into it before nibbling at her skin. Her movements were demanding and unrelenting as she moved against him, her hands resting on his shoulders and neck steading herself as she chased her release. Her breath came in hot, quick pants against his face as Draco bucked his hips to help her reach her climax.

Flipping her over to her back, he took control and thrust into her wildly. He felt every emotion over the last two days pouring out of him and into this moment, into her. His desperation to keep her, his anger over his interrupted life, and his absolute devotion to the woman underneath him. One of his hands found hers as he pressed into her, his body begging him to let go. His muscles were screaming at him, his skin was slick with sweat but still he didn't wanted this to end. Hermione was whimpering in pleasure as he continued his descent into the madness of the moment. Finally, feeling her body shuddering around him once more he let his body have the release it needed.

Draco collapsed, his head resting on Hermione's chest but he didn't speak and neither did Hermione. She lay there relishing the feeling of Draco with her, his hot breath tickling her abdomen, her nerves still tingling from sex. She stared down at him clutching her waist still. His veela-blonde hair was in disarray and partially concealing his face but still she thought he might be the most beautiful person she had ever seen. She brushed his hair aside with her finger and felt the damp silky folds between her fingers. How could she for a moment have thought about giving this up? Draco's hand was lightly tracing the curve of her hip bone when he finally spoke.

"I'm not sure I'll ever be able to stop loving you, Hermione." He sounded sadder than she had ever heard him as if he had already given up.

"Nor I you." She reassured him, inhaling deeply and closing her eyes. She thought for a moment what her life would be like without him. Even before they were together, he had become a piece of her. She opened her eyes to find his grey ones looking back at her. Her hands stroked his cheek as she added, "I love you, Draco." At that declaration, he adjusted himself so that he was laying on his back next to her.

"Yes," he exhaled, "but I know you love him too." Hermione's heart dropped as she propped herself up on her elbow to look over at him naked beside her. He wasn't looking back, he was just staring at the ceiling, his jaw clenched. He had told himself he wouldn't do this but after being ignored for close to 48 hours, his patience was thinning.

"I-I-don't know how I feel." Hermione admitted stupidly. "It's only been a couple of days, Draco."

Draco sat up not facing her and began putting his clothes back on silently. He looked at her from the corner of his eye, "Let me know when you figure it out, will you?" She didn't respond, she just stared at him in dismay. Part of her wanted to beg him to stay and to swear she didn't love Ron but she couldn't bring herself to lie. She truly didn't know how to feel. It would be so easy to say that Ron's reappearance meant nothing, but it did. "I'm going back to the Manor to get some work done. I'll see you tomorrow." Something in Hermione broke as he turned to leave. She couldn't let him leave like this.

"No!" She jumped up, pulling the sheet around her. "Get back here, Draco. That isn't fair."

"Fair? You think coming home to fuck me because you can't fuck him is fair?" Draco's face was getting redder with annoyance.

"That's not-"

"Isn't it, Hermione? Isn't that exactly why we got together to begin with? Because he was dead, and you couldn't have him?" Despite the look on his face, Draco's voice was unnaturally calm. Her nostrils flared at the insinuation.

"No Draco, that's _not_ why. I am with you because I want to be. Ron had nothing to do with my decision to marry you and-"

"And if he hadn't been kidnapped, we wouldn't be here." He carefully stepped closer to her. "Right, Hermione?" She looked away.

"I don't know, Draco." She whispered, "For all I know we would have dated, had no compatibility and you and I still would have ended up together." Draco scoffed not believing her.

"Don't be ridiculous Hermione. You would have married Ron and had a dozen red-headed babies and lived happily ever after."

"You don't know that! Besides, that's _not_ what happened. Ron _did_ get kidnapped and he's been treated horribly for six years. He has been _tortured_ , Draco. How dare you question how I feel about you and try to make me feel bad about not telling Ron to what? 'Fuck off?' He knows you and I are together. _He knows._ Are you suggesting I make it worse by hammering it home to him?" Draco knew she was fighting just so he would back off and he wasn't taking the bait.

"I didn't say any of that Hermione. I never told you not to talk to him or be friends with him." He pressed a hand to his temple. "Ugh! I promised myself I wouldn't bring this up but, I know you Hermione. Okay? I fucking know you and you're not over him. You never have been, I just didn't care before because he was fucking dead." Hermione looked like she had been slapped at that revelation.

"You've thought that this whole time?" Hermione whispered close to tears.

"Hermione, right before we started dating you were still referring to him as the love of your life." Hermione was going to be sick. He was right. Before Draco, that was how she had always felt about Ron.

"But things change Draco. I've not said that since you and I have been together."

"Hermione. You always forget. I was there when you were with Weasley. I was there when he died. I'm not saying you don't love me but I don't think it's the same."

"Draco! Stop this! Do you think I'd be any less devastated if _you_ died?"

"Yes." He answered plainly.

"I don't know how I can fix that. I don't know what else I can do." Hermione replied annoyed that she had started to cry. She furiously wiped the tears away and sat on the edge of the bed. She felt completely helpless. She knew she had feelings for Ron but she didn't really know what they were. She did know that she loved Draco. "This isn't a situation I thought could ever happen, Draco. I don't know how I'm supposed to feel and I don't even know how I feel yet. I know I'm thrilled Ron is alive and I _know_ I'm in love with you but anything past that…" She trailed off.

Draco sat next to her. "I know. I'm sorry, Hermione. We will just take it one day at a time." He put his arm around her. "Just, please don't shut me out like you have the last couple of days." He tilted her chin to look at him. "You know we are idiots when we don't communicate." They both laughed and she silently agreed, resting her head on his shoulders and grabbing his hand. She looked at the sparkling rock on her finger and her stomach turned. It felt much heavier than usual.


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey all! Thank you for all the reviews! It's extremely humbling that my writing is stirring so much emotion in people! As I'm writing this I'm ONE DAY away from vacation, so I will be on a writing hiatus for about two weeks (I'm sorry!). This will be the last chapter I post until I get back.**

After a couple of days in St. Mungos, Ron was set to be released. His parents were set to pick him up any minute now. He was going to be staying at the Burrow where Molly could dote on him at all hours. Neville had repaired all his bones that had healed improperly and took care of most of his recent scarring. Outside his treatments though, Ron hadn't seen Neville much. While it hurt him to be ignored by his friend, he understood that Neville had a complicated relationship with the Cruciatus Curse. Ron was sure it didn't help Neville to see Ron waking up screaming every night. Earlier, when Ron had come back from a bath, he saw that someone had left some information on therapy and remedial potions to help those who had been through torture. He suspected Neville was trying but didn't want to talk to Ron about it.

Ron flipped through the pamphlets as he waited for his parents to pick him up from the hospital. There was loads of advice in them that could seemingly help him but he didn't think he'd be able to see a therapist. There was too much that had happened in his life that only Harry and Hermione had the right to know. He simply didn't trust anyone to know everything that had happened to him before or during the kidnapping. He'd already lost so much already, he didn't want to lose his privacy as well.

He glanced down at his new outfit. Hermione and Draco had given him some clothes the day before and he was certain it had been Draco that picked them out, and most likely paid for them. He could tell by the quality. They had brought him a couple cotton t-shirts, denim trousers that were skinnier than he normally would buy, and a couple of sweaters. Ron was starting to warm back up to Draco after his outburst where he accused him of stealing his life. Ron groaned with embarrassment at the thought. Draco had not deserved to be yelled at and he had been right, he had done nothing wrong.

Ron thought about Draco and Hermione together. They seemed happy, but he knew his reappearance hadn't been easy on them. Yesterday, they had been pretty reserved with one another, speaking only to him and not each other much. He had been wondering over the last couple of days how Draco and Hermione ended up together but Harry would change the subject if he asked. He made a mental note to ask Ginny.

"Ron, your parents are here." Neville poked his head in before the rest of his body followed. "Ron, listen, I'm sorry that I haven't-"

"Neville it's really okay." Ron held up a hand to cut him off. "Everyone is being weird around me. It's just what happens when you come back from the dead." He laughed and put his hand on Neville's shoulder who hugged him. Ron was taken aback but patted Neville anyway.

"Well, your parents are here." Ron nodded following him out of the hospital room. Molly Weasley walked swiftly to him, her arms outstretched.

"Mum, is this going to be a thing now?" Ron asked as he was slowly being crushed in a hug.

"Yes." She said, not letting go. "Alright." She stepped back and ruffled his hair, "Let's get you home."

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Ron was not enjoying the orange room as he once had. He lay on his bed, looking around at the piles of books and figurines. The cramped posters were making him anxious. He flicked the wand Molly had given him to use. Objects flew around and organized themselves, the posters rolled themselves neatly in a corner, and the walls changed to calming sky blue color. As objects whizzed by, Ron reached up and caught a photo. Harry, Hermione, and he weren't looking at him. They looked about fifteen and were laughing in the middle of a snowball fight. This must have been taken by Colin Creevey, he thought. His face fell. Another dead kid.

"Does this life ever get any fucking easier?" He growled to himself.

"Over time." Ron looked up to see George standing in the doorway. "Mum said you haven't really left your room much." He took a seat next to Ron who didn't respond. "I'm sorry this happened to you Ron." George raised a hand to pat him on the back while Ron remained silent and stared at the wall. "You are a riveting conversationalist, Ronald." George joked and Ron scoffed.

"Fuck off." Ron smiled.

"I actually wanted to talk to you about something." Ron raised his eyebrows. "I need some help at the shop and I was wondering if you wanted something to do?" George hesitated. "I know it's not easy to stay alone with your thoughts and there really isn't a better place to heal than a joke shop. Laughter is the best medicine, right?"

"Penicillin is the best medicine."

"Pena-what?" George asked. Ron shook his head.

"Something Hermione used to say. I think it's a Muggle thing. But yeah, that would be great George. It'll give me something to do other than sleep and feel sorry for myself." George chucked.

"Good. I need help, like now."

"Now?" Ron look surprised.

"Sure, if you're up for it." Ron shrugged and stood up. He thought working with George would be good for him. It would get him out of the house and away from his old memories for awhile.

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Hermione woke up with tight arms wrapped around her. She turned and looked at Draco. They had been struggling lately and she knew it was her fault. She had been spending too much time with Ron and was taking too much responsibility for his wellness. Draco all the while, had been doing his best to be understanding. She raised her finger to his temple smoothing the frown lines under her fingertips. Draco smiled, his eyes still shut.

"Good morning." He croaked, clearing his throat and opening his eyes.

"Good morning." She smiled, she searched his face, "What are you thinking?"

"That I have to pee." Draco laughed as Hermione playfully hit him. "What? It's morning." He started to climb out of the bed. "What are your plans today?" He asked as he grabbed his robe and made his way to the adjoining bathroom.

"I don't know. I was going to see Ron but I think I'd rather spend the day with you. Are you free?" She asked through the bathroom door.

"I can be. Huge benefit of owning the company." He grinned as he stepped out. He strode to her desk, wrote a quick owl telling his assistant he would not be coming in and to cancel his meetings. He tied the letter to an owl and sent it on it's way. "Done. What should we do?"

"Can we just stay in and hide from everyone?"

"Can we have sex while we are hiding?" Hermione tossed a pillow at him and chuckled.

"Are you 15?"

"Off by about a decade but oh what a great decade it was. I've learned so much… so much…" Draco look wistful and Hermione cleared her throat loudly. "Hey, you've benefited from that decade of debauchery."

"Have I?" Hermione quirked an eyebrow.

"Oh, most definitely." Draco stalked carefully toward her and she felt heat rising in her cheeks. His hand disappeared beneath the blanket and his fingers found her core. "When I was 15, I couldn't do this." He pushed a finger into her, rubbing her g-spot as he entered. She gasped. "I definitely didn't do this." He flicked his thumb across her little bundle of nerves. She squirmed but kept eye contact.

"Are you telling me all those women you were with in your youth were unsatisfied." He thrust his finger in again and she bit her lip. Her breath was coming heavy now.

"Sadly, I'm afraid some were. But, my Hermione, you don't share their experiences, do you?" He teased all the while moving his fingers inside her. She let her head fall back on the pillow and shook her head, unable to speak. She began moaning and panting as he kept up his ministrations. He felt her muscles spasm around his fingers as he felt her climax.

When her breathing returned to normal, Hermione said, "Yeah, we are definitely staying in today." Draco laughed and leaned to kiss her. It felt like it had before Ron had come back. Maybe Hermione had just needed a few days, he thought. Maybe they were okay. Maybe they weren't slowly marching to their end.


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey all! Thank you for being so patient while waiting for this next chapter! I'm back to normal after vacation so you can expect more regular updates now! Also, apologies for any typos in advance. I ran through quickly because I wanted to get this out to you all ASAP.**

As Ron entered Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, he noticed a woman with pin-straight blonde hair flitting around, opening boxes and arranging the shop.

"Oy Georgie! What took you so long? You said you-" She looked up and grinned. "You've brought help! Excellent!" She bounced down the steps to meet them on the ground floor.

"Hello! Brigid Marie Parker, former Hufflepuff, current orphan." Ron looked at her confused as she held out her hand.

"Brig, you gotta stop leading with that." George sighed and Brigid rolled her eyes. Ron hesitantly took her hand.

"I just like to get the unpleasantness out of the way instead of let it come up at a weird time."

"You mean weird like when you're meeting someone for the first time?" George raised his eyebrow at her. She shrugged.

"Ron Weasley, er, former Gryffindor and not, an orphan?"

"Nice to meet you, Ron. I've never met a dead person before." She turned back to the boxes she was unloading, her yellow hair swaying behind her. Ron looked agape at George who smirked in response.

"I'm not… dead. People just thought I was." She shrugged and kept working.

"Brigid, could you teach Ron what you're doing right now and have him help? I'm going to the back to work on some stuff." Brigid nodded as George took his leave. Brigid gave Ron a quick rundown of her current task and he began to help. It was quiet for a couple of minutes until Brigid spoke.

"I'm glad George brought you in. We've been pretty busy lately and we just had someone quit."

"How long have you worked for George?" Ron asked.

"Oh, about two or three years now?" Bridgid pulled out a box of Skiving Snackboxes from a larger cardboard box and set them on the table nearby. "Did you ever use these in school?" Bridgid asked.

"Well, not really. I did use them as a teenager but only as a way to get break into the Ministry." Ron laughed recalling poor Reginald Cattermole puking as Hermione stole some of his hair. "Hermione was furious with me the whole year Fred and George sold these at school. I thought they were brilliant," he ran his hand over some Puking Pastilles.

"Hermione Granger?" Bridgid asked and Ron nodded.

"We were prefects in fifth year together, well, and sixth of course. But the twins quit school fifth year because, you know, fuck Umbridge." Brigid laughed. Her laugh made Ron feel nervous for some reason but he couldn't help but laugh along.

"Yeah, that was my second year. She was quite awful."

"You have _no_ idea." Ron thinking of the scar she had left on Harry's hand as he continued to stack the boxes. It still showed white to this day.

"I suppose that's probably true. I didn't really have the same experiences at Hogwarts that you lot did but I did come back before the Battle of Hogwarts."

"Come back?"

"I'm a muggleborn. I came back to live with the DA in the Room for Requirement after my parents were killed for, you know, being muggles." Ron looked sick.

"I'm so sorry, I-"

"I'm over it. There's nothing I can do about it now." She said quickly adjusting a "Nosebleed Nougat" a little too carefully. Ron certainly understood the desire not to talk about anything for too long.

"So, you say you were in second year when Umbridge was around? So, you're twenty-two then?"

"Yep. I went back and finished school after the war. Hermione was there for a year, right? I believe she was Head Girl my fourth year."

"Naturally." Ron sighed. "She is obsessed with schooling. There was no way in hell they were going to get Harry and I back to study. We had jobs at the ministry already so N.E.W.T.S. weren't really a priority."

"I can't say I blame you for that one. I needed to go back if I wanted to continue doing magic and living in the wizarding world. You know, since I had only had a few years at Hogwarts by that point. It was actually a nice distraction."

"Yeah, and she was also a prefect like you, Ron." George had emerged from the back room. "Although, I am still shocked that you got that. Never would have happened if Hermione wasn't doing your homework for you." Ron's ears turned pinked.

"Okay. I wasn't that terrible. I got better marks on my O.W.L.S. than you."

"And somehow you were never as smart." George tapped his lips with his finger, mockingly pensive.

"You'd think I'd get a few days of sympathy before you started acting like a know again." Ron joked.

"It's like you don't even know me." George feigned sadness.

"Sympathy?" Brigid looked puzzled.

"It's nothing." Ron mumbled, hoping George would remain quite as well which, he thankfully did. Brigid didn't push and remained working. Over the next couple of hours the three of them talked on and off like that putting things away and cleaning up. It was nice for Ron to talk to someone who didn't just see him as a torture victim or someone to be pitied.

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As was typical for them, both Hermione and Draco laid on the couch reading their respective books in silence.

"What are you reading?" Draco asked after a few minutes.

"The Fantastic Folly of Frank the Fair. It's about-"

"Frank the Fair. 17th century potions master who accidentally stumbled across the cure for Turtington's Disease?" Hermione looked over the top of her book and smiled at him. "I read it a couple of months ago," he continued, "It's so interesting. Let me know when you finish. I'm curious to know what you think." Hermione stared at him. Sometimes she forgot everything they had in common, their love for knowledge and reading. Ron and Harry never read anything they weren't forced to read.

"I love you, Draco." She stared at his grey eyes as he looked back at her.

"I love you too, Hermione." He cocked his head to the side. "Don't you want to know what I'm reading?" He held up the cover for her to see. 'The Golden Trio: A Look Into Harry Potter's Missing Year,' by Rita Skeeter.

"Oh stop!" Hermione moaned. "Please tell me you didn't give her a single galleon for that trash."

"I got it from the library. I swear." He put his hand on his heart. "It's not as popular seven years later so I was able to get it right away. Have you read it?"

"No." Hermione replied defiantly. "Okay, yes." She conceded. "I read it once when it came out. She _despises_ me so I felt like I should know what rumors she was spreading."

"She does some seriously good investigating here." Hermione curled her lip in annoyance. "For example, this scene between you, Harry, and Ron. How did she know that's how you all relieved tension?" Hermione's cheeks flushed.

"What?!" She went to grab the book from him. He pulled back and laughed.

"I'm kidding, 'Mione. Although, she does allude to you being a scarlet woman and pinning the two ' _poor boys'_ against each other."

"Okay, now _that_ I vaguely remember." She lowered her book. "Why are you even reading that?"

"Well, you all were sort of tight-lipped about everything that went down so most of it is speculation. I figured I should refresh myself on what happened."

"Why didn't you just ask me?" Draco wanted to tell her that it was because she never seemed interested in sharing the details of what had happened and he didn't want to pry. He had a hard time talking about the war and he assumed it was the same for most everyone else.

"Because Rita Skeeter is a way better storyteller than you are," he teased.

"Well that's just plain rude!" She huffed in fake annoyance sinking back into her spot on the couch.

"You're right." Draco tossed the book to the side and brought her forcefully to his lap kissing her forehead.

"Draco! That book belongs to the library. Don't ruin it!" she squealed.

"Hermione, I'm a wizard. I'm pretty sure I can figure out how to mend it if it's ripped."

Hermione began to respond when an owl flew in through her window and dropped a letter on her lap. She noticed Ron's handwriting immediately.

"Hi Hermione,

Sorry to bother but could you please come to my mum's house? Kingsley wants to talk to me and I'd like for you and Harry to be there.

Sincerely,

RW"

Hermione passed the letter to Draco who read through it quickly.

"Surely the memories Kingsley got were enough?" Draco asked. "He's not going to interrogate Weasley, right?" Hermione shrugged.

"So much for us hiding away today." Hermione replied dismally.

"Hey, at least we had the whole day. It's okay. Go ahead. I've got my book." Draco wandlessly accio'ed his book and held it up for her smirking.

"Are you sure?" She sighed.

"Hermione, of course. Go. Let me know if you need me, okay?" She nodded and leaned into him. She didn't want to leave and go deal with this now. She just wanted to stay nestled up to Draco and keep reading.

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	8. Chapter 8

Hermione hated every single second of Kingsley's interrogation. She watched Ron stoically answer questions for two straight hours, desperately wishing there was a way she could make it all stop for him. She held back tears as Ron described the ritual psychological and physical torture he had endured over the last six years at the hands of some sick blood purists. Kingsley asked all the standard questions, who he saw while he was there, where he thought he was, and how he had finally escaped. "One day, I found my cell empty and everyone gone. I ran as fast as I could to get the hell out of there." In addition to the questions, Ron had to provide memories to support all of it. By the end, Kingsley had a clear picture of the group they were looking for as did Hermione and Harry. Ron had been captured in a disgusting attempt to brainwash supposed "blood traitors" into believing in true blood purity. It hadn't worked.

When Kingsley had finished and the Weasleys had gone to bed, only Ron, Harry, and Hermione remained.

"My place?" Harry suggested and they agreed so that they wouldn't keep Mr. and Mrs. Weasley awake. As soon as they made it to Harry's, he strode to the kitchen. Once there he hastily pulled out three glasses, a new bottle of firewhiskey, and walked back to the living room.

"Firewhiskey? It's been ages!" Ron looked genuinely excited.

"Yeah, that was, rough. I could use a drink, I don't know about you two." Ron motioned for Harry to pour him one.

"Is that the best idea?" Hermione asked cautiously.

"Probably not but to be honest, it might be nice for me to dull my brains for a minute." Ron replied as he poured Hermione a drink and pushed it over to her. She sighed, conceding and downed it all. Ron eyes went wide and his mouth gaped open.

"Another, bartender." Hermione tapped the table. Harry grinned widely at Ron's reaction who was looking at him in bewilderment.

"Oh yeah, Hermione drinks now." Hermione shrugged and watched as Ron filled her glass again.

"Is she still a bit bitchy when she does?" Ron asked.

"I'm right here, you arse!" Hermione hit the table lightly.

"I think I have my answer." Ron quirked an eyebrow and took a sip.

"I'm not totally bitchy, I just get impatient."

"Like that time you got drunk with Draco on his birthday and wouldn't wait for a cab or try to floo so you apparated back instead?" Harry quirked his eyebrow mischievously.

"Oh, he was so pissed. 'Why do you insist on being so damn reckless, Hermione. God damn Gryffindors and their rash behavior.'" Hermione mocked Draco in a nasally voice that did not remotely resemble Draco's. Harry and Ron laughed. "He's one to talk. He was practically an alcoholic awhile back."

"Okay but to be fair, Draco is pretty charming when he's drunk." Harry pointed out.

"To you, maybe." Hermione scoffed. She wasn't sure why she felt like berating Draco to them.

"Um, yeah, definitely to me. Whenever Draco is drunk, I get quidditch tickets." Harry took a sip of his firewhiskey.

"Yes, yes, we all know he's wonderful." Hermione polished her drink, relishing the warm feeling washing over her as the firewhisky slid down her throat. Ron and Harry exchanged a quick glance at Hermione's comment. She wasn't sure why but she was getting irritated by Draco lately. Why was he being so nice. Draco was generally a good person but he also had a quick temper and a mild jealousy streak. Why was he being so calm and collected about Ron returning? She felt like she was being coddled while at the same time pitied? She wasn't sure if that was the right word to use but either way, she hated it.

"Is everything okay Hermione?" Harry asked.

"Yes, why?" Hermione frowned.

"That's your second glass in two minutes." Ron offered.

"I'm thirsty." She replied shrugging. She slid the glass to Harry who debated refilling her glass. Hermione tapped her nails on the table and looked away. Harry refilled her glass and sent it back to her.

"Er, how are things going at the shop?" Harry asked trying to change the subject.

"I've only worked once, today actually. It was quite nice to have something to do and I love the joke shop. I did meet that Brigid woman though, she is a bit weird, no?" Hermione's ear perked at the mention of the pretty blonde. Harry laughed.

"Ah, she opened with that whole orphan line did she?"

"Yeah. She is pretty cool I guess though." Ron shrugged.

"And quite pretty." Hermione added.

"Yeah, I guess she is." Ron pondered as if he hadn't noticed before. Hermione felt a stab of jealousy in her abdomen. She was with Draco. Ron knew that and seemed to respect it. She shouldn't be jealous at the idea that he thought another woman was pretty.

Harry watched silently praying they would change the subject. He had spent enough time with them to know when Hermione was jealous. He also knew that Ron was barely hanging onto his sanity and doing his best to come to terms with Hermione being engaged to Draco. He could tell Hermione was trying but he watched as she was pulled into two different directions over the last few weeks. Harry cleared his throat.

"Ron, now that you are working for George have you thought about what's next?"

"A bit, yeah." Ron looked at his half empty glass and ran his finger around the rim. "I'd like to get out of the Burrow. I mean, mum's great, but she is always checking on me, hugging me every time she sees me, and just hovering constantly."

"Why don't you live with me?" Hermione blurted. Harry, who was sitting a bit behind Ron, shook his head cautiously at her and mouthed what are you doing? Hermione ignored him.

"Um, thanks 'Mione, but I am not sure that's a good idea."

"Why not? You own half of it. It's just as much your house as mine." Ron's face went red at the reminder and he looked pained as if he wished he didn't have to respond. Harry came to his defense.

"I think what Ron is trying to say is, that, arrangement may be uncomfortable for Draco," Harry replied, his eyes wide in fury at Hermione. One mention of a pretty woman and Hermione was 16 again.

"Draco doesn't live there with me."

"Hermione. Stop." Harry warned.

"I'm just saying, it's perfectly reasonable and I'm sure Draco would see that. The choice is yours." Hermione took a sip and looked at Ron expectedly.

"Er, okay, Hermione. I'll think about it." Ron's face felt like it was on fire. Of course he wanted to live with Hermione. Of course he wanted to be with her every second of every day but living with her wasn't going to take that ring off her finger. He was trying to respect that she was engaged and move on. It wasn't easy but he was doing his best to only ask her for friend-related things. Sure, he hadn't really cared that night in the hospital and he knew he'd been selfish that night. He'd been so desperate to see her that he really hadn't cared about anything other than having her in his arms again. Now that he had been able to step away and start working on himself, he knew that the right thing to do was step back and let Hermione live her life with Draco.

"Great!" Hermione smiled. Harry seethed next to her but thawed a bit as they continued to talk. They shared some stories and reminisced until the bottle sat empty between them.

"I still can't believe that." Hermione laughed as she fell onto her back, her head resting on Ron's lap with Harry was sitting across from them. Ron was barely resisting the urge to touch her when Harry abruptly interrupted his thoughts.

"Okay. Bottles gone. Time for bed." He flashed Hermione an angry look that she didn't notice. "Will you be able to make it home Hermione?"

"Yes, yes." She sat up and Ron nearly groaned at the loss of contact. "Oh shit, it's midnight? Okay, I'm out of here." She said her goodbyes, threw some floo in to Harry's fireplace and disappeared. Once she was gone, Harry turned to Ron.

"I'm sorry, mate."

"For what? It's not your fault I was tortured." Ron cleared his throat at the attempted joke.

"That's not what I'm talking about." Harry waved a hand toward the fireplace where Hermione had left.

"I-er-I-don't really know what to do about that. It's not like I don't want her. You know I do. I've been in love with her since I was 14 but, I, want to be a good person. I don't want to break up a marriage. I just- I don't know."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"After today, I'm not sure I ever want to talk about anything ever again." Harry smiled and patted Ron on the back.

"The couch is yours if you don't want to go home tonight, mate." Harry summoned a pillow and blanket.

"Thanks." Ron replied. As Ron turned to the couch, his thoughts wandered to Hermione. He remembered exactly how she looked when he had left six years ago. Her hair had been a complete mess after they had spent the preceding day in bed. She had been wearing denim shorts, and one of his button downs. He wondered if she remembered what he had been wearing. He closed his eyes and could almost smell her, could almost remember what it had been like before when he could touch her, when he could kiss her. He sighed pushing away the thought before he had too much hope. If there was one thing he had learned, it was that hope was fleeting and useless to him.

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"Hermione. Are you drunk?" Draco asked as she stumbled up the stairs to her room.

"Yes." Hermione nodded. "And Ron is moving in here." Draco frowned.

"Yeah, we can talk about that tomorrow. Let's get you to bed." Draco started to usher her to the bedroom.

"No. No, we will not talk about it tomorrow. He's moving in. This is his house too! He helped buy it! His mom is driving him crazy and Ginny and Harry have a kid on the way. This is the only place to go."

"Okay. So, if he moves in here, where will you be living then?" Draco already knew the answer but he needed her to confirm it.

"Here." She looked at him confused.

"Hermione. No. I'm sorry, but that's too far." He replied sternly and shook his head. He had been patient with her so far but he wasn't going to approve of his fiancee living with her ex-boyfriend.

"Too far? Please. Nothing is too far or too much when it comes to Ron." She glowered at him. "And Harry," she added quickly.

"And me?" He asked quietly.

"What about you?" Draco scoffed as Hermione continued, "I love you but - but you can't understand. You'll never be able to understand us."

"What can't I understand? Try to explain." Draco asked calmly. It infuriated Hermione more somehow. She wanted to fight. She was so angry about her circumstances and Draco's politeness was irritating her. She wanted to push him away.

"You can't understand what it was like for us. You don't know what it was like to hide out in a tent and nearly starve to death. When Dumbledore died, our trail for Horcruxes essentially went cold. We spent a year together fighting for our lives, breaking into the ministry and Gringotts, nearly dying every day. All that time, Voldemort's presence hovered around us with that fucking locket. Every day, he was with us." At that, Draco's patience was broken.

"Do you all seriously just forget about all the shit I went through?" Draco asked, his temper rising. Hermione rolled her eyes knowing what he was about to say and refusing to care.

"You mean having both your parents with you the whole time? You didn't have to obliviate them and send them to Australia, did you? Because I did! I had to send them my family away and make them forget me. Did you have to quit school? Because I had to. Did a bunch of your friends die just because of their dirty blood? I had to pray every day that I didn't die before we could end the war your precious Death Eaters started. All this fighting and struggling just because, how did you used to so eloquently put it, I'm a filthy mudblood."

"Fuck you, Hermione. So what? You had to wear a Horcrux, I had to fucking live with him-" Hermione cut him off.

"Yeah, the same house you want me to move into. The same house where I was tortured? Yeah, remember that? Do you remember watching as your Aunt Bella tortured me? Do you remember who saved me? It was Dobby. It was Ron and Harry. Not you. You did nothing." Draco's heart sank. Of course he remembered, it haunted him. That night hadn't been brought up in over 5 years and this was certainly the first time she was accusing him. He felt himself grow colder and sneered.

"You're right. I did. I stood there and did nothing. But guess what, you're alive. Hermione pursed her lips as if her point was proven. "While you and your precious trio were able to always take the high road, I had to do things I abhorred to make sure that my family and myself stayed safe. You don't understand what it's like to be me, Hermione. You don't understand what it's like to have a maniac living in your house. You don't know what it's like to grow up around so much hate." He took a deep breath trying not to completely lose his calm but his eyes flashed dangerously as he continued, "You're right. I fucked up but I did the only thing I thought that would keep my family alive, I shut up and did as I was told." Hermione hadn't ever really thought about it from Draco's perspective before. She knew she was crossing the line but she was just so angry. Hermione's jaw clenched as she forced herself not to apologize. Draco stood looking at her in disbelief at her silence.

"You know what? I'm fucking out of here. I'm done with this. I'm not going to defend myself over and over again for mistakes I made as a scared teenager! If you want Ron to move in, let him. If you want to be with him, then go. Stop dragging this on Hermione and decide what the fuck it is you want. Until then, I'm out." Draco stalked away and slammed her door behind him. Hermione's heart sank. What did she want?


	9. Chapter 9

Hermione rolled over and moaned into her pillow. Not only did she have a throbbing headache but to make matters worse, she had been an utterly awful to Draco the night before. Everything had begun to build up inside her lately and she felt like she had no one to talk to. She hadn't been able to tell Draco about her doubts, for fear of losing him. She hadn't been able to tell Ron how she felt because she didn't want to hurt him more. She couldn't talk to Harry because-

"Hermione?" Harry's voice rang out from her living room downstairs. She pulled her pillow over her head and ignored him. She knew he was here to scold her. "Hermione?" He called again, his voice getting closer; she didn't move.

"Hermione." His voice was at her bedroom door. She groaned in response. "Hermione. What the fuck was that last night?"

"Harry, do I need to revoke your floo privileges?" Harry ignored her.

"Hermione. You can't-you can't do that stuff anymore."

"Do what? Offer a best friend a place to stay? A place they paid for, mind you?"

"You know what I mean, Hermione. Ron is-Ron's fragile. You can't be messing with him like that and giving him hope." Hermione rolled her eyes under the pillow and pushed her face deeper in. She didn't say anything or move for a minute.

"Okay." She squeaked out, trying to hold back her tears. She wished Harry would leave so she could be alone.

"Hermione, I know it's tough but," Hermione was up so fast her head spun uncomfortably.

"You don't know anything, Harry!" She shouted. "You can't! You can't know how I feel! I feel... _so angry!_ I'm so mad that I have to do this. I finally, _finally_ , move on from Ron. I find someone who is damn near perfect for me and then everything gets fucked up. I am engaged and all I can do is wonder if I am doing the right thing!" She paused to take a deep breath and stared at her engagement ring. It was so beautiful but she felt like chucking it out the window in rage. "I look at Draco and all I can think is if Ron had never left, I'd never be with him and that _terrifies me._ And then I look at Ron and, I don't know, it's like being home again but with an added twinge of guilt because I miss Draco. It's like I can't be happy with either of them. I can't be happy with Ron because I feel guilty for not thinking of Draco and I can't be happy with Draco because all I can think of is how much Ron is hurting and how I'm contributing to that." Hermione was sobbing at this point which was not what Harry had intended when he had come over. He patted her awkwardly in comfort.

"Who do you want Hermione?" Hermione bit her lip. _Draco._

"I don't know."

"Yes, you do. You just don't want to choose because you don't want to let anyone down."

"This isn't fair." She whined childishly.

"When has anything in our lives ever been fair Hermione?" Harry asked quietly. Hermione looked at him.

"Harry, am I a terrible person if I just want to be with Draco?" She whispered, tears streaming down her face. Harry had expected this answer. He loved Ron and Hermione but there was no denying that what once worked, didn't anymore.

"No, Hermione. I think it's perfectly acceptable for you want to be with your fiance." He laughed. Hermione smiled meekly.

"Harry I messed up. Bad." Hermione launched into what happened the night before with Draco.

"I don't know what came over me. I was just so angry. I said _unforgivable_ things Harry. I told him he just stood by and watched as Bellatrix tortured me." Harry grimaced at her words but hastily cleared his throat.

"Well, do you think laying in bed is going to help fix this problem?" He stood up as to show her she needed to get up and go apologize.

"No." Hermione dragged herself from her bed, standing up and smoothing out her hair. She quickly grabbed a pair of jeans and a rumpled sweater from the floor and fled to the bathroom to change. When she emerged, Harry was still there. He was looking a picture on her bedside table of Draco and her laughing after he asked her to marry him. He set it back down as she walked over to him.

"Are you alright?" She asked.

"Yep." Harry said quickly and Hermione eyed him suspiciously. He ignored her. "Okay, I'm going to get out of here so you can do what you need to do." Hermione threw her arms around him.

"Thanks, Harry."

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When Draco opened his the door, he sighed wearily and rolled his eyes. Hermione ignored it and stared back at him. At this very moment, he resembled a king who had been disturbed from his slumber. He stood regally at the entrance of his mansion, clad in silky black pajamas trimmed with gold and robe that matched. His feet were clad in monogrammed slippers in the same gold color as his pajamas. Hermione never understood how he looked so effortlessly god-like. Every hair was in place, and despite the dark circles under his eyes and the alcohol on his breath, he still maintained a certain stoic noble quality to him.

"Granger." He said gruffly, raising a crystal glass to his lips as he leaned on the frame of the doorway.

"Jesus Draco, it's ten in the morning." She reached for the glass as he shrugged away, still blocking her entrance to his home.

"What do you want, Granger?" He asked pointedly. He wasn't in the mood for Hermione's endless apologies at the moment.

"Can I come in?" She was losing her nerve standing outside in her ruffled outfit. She had been so hasty in trying to get to him, she hadn't put much effort into her appearance and she now regretted it.

"But won't you be _traumatized_ by what's happened in here?" Draco sneered waving his hand dramatically behind him. Hermione wasn't sure how she was supposed to respond. Sure, she had had some terrible memories in the manor but she hadn't meant the comment the night before. She had said them specifically to hurt him. When she didn't respond Draco scoffed, "Bye, Granger." He stepped away from the doorframe and moved to shut the door. Hermione flung her hand out desperately to stop it.

"Wait! I'm sorry, okay?" Hermione moved to touch him and he stepped back out of her reach. At that moment, Hermione knew that an apology wouldn't be enough this time. She had crossed a line and he wasn't going to let her off the hook for it.

"Great. Apology not accepted." Draco said dryly moving to shut the door again.

"Draco, please! Please, I'm sorry about what I said, I'm just so-"

"Fucked up?" Draco supplied. "Welcome to the club, Granger." He saluted her with his glass as he took another swig of his drink, finishing the contents. He looked at it surprised as if he couldn't believe it was gone before he turned back to her.

"Stop that! Stop calling me that." Draco pursed his lips, trying to decide if he should continue calling her Granger. He thought maybe she deserved a bit of antagonizing. "Draco, I should never have said that to you-"

"No, you shouldn't have." Draco cut her off, looking serious. "Now deal with the consequences of being such an asshole." He began shutting the door once more, this time she let him. She had never seen him so angry. He was reverting back to his old habits. He was compartmentalizing his feelings, shoving down the hurt and pain and bringing the anger and pettiness to the surface. And it was all her fault.

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Draco clutched the empty glass in his hand and rested his head against the door, breathing deeply. He knew he should let her apologize but there was something in him that had snapped the night before. Didn't she understand how much it was taking out of him to be understanding? It was against his nature to be selfless but he sure as hell had tried. He tried when he saw Hermione lovingly touch Ron. He tried even when he saw the longing look in Ron's eyes when he looked at Hermione. He tried even if he wanted to pluck those eyes out of Ron's head and scream that Hermione was his. _He tried._

He always had Blaise's words in his head, "This isn't about you." Well, last night, Hermione had made it about him. She had slapped him in the proverbial face with her dose of honesty. He had been so devastated he had come home and laid in the spot where she had been tortured for hours. He felt he polished wood under his fingers and stared at the replaced chandelier. He relived the moment over and over again, until he was convinced there hadn't been a way to save her. At least, not without getting someone killed. He knew Aunt Bella would have driven that knife directly into Hermione's heart if he had made a move to save her. If anything, just to teach him a lesson about caring about 'Mudbloods.'

In his misery, he had finally realized something that felt like a punch in the gut. He had realized in that moment that Hermione didn't view him as an equal. Ron was her equal, Harry was her equal, but he wasn't. And he had realized he never would be. He slammed his fist on the door. No matter how much he improved, no matter how much he gave to charity, he would be inferior all because he was born into the wrong family.

Draco turned so his back was leaning on the heavy door. She acted like he had a choice to take the mark. He chuckled hollowly to himself at the thought of free will during that time in his life. Sure, he could have died instead but who would that have helped? Not his mother, not his father, not anyone. Did Hermione really believe he had enjoyed torturing people? Did she really believe he enjoyed having Voldemort sleeping in the room next to his? Oh, yeah, he thought bitterly, he sleeps. Barely, but it happens. How many nights had he laid awake terrified that Voldemort would burst into his room and demand he murder someone?

Draco rubbed his eyes. He hadn't slept. After his useless attempt at blaming himself for Hermione's torture, he had thrown himself into his work. He hadn't wanted to think about anything other than the project in front of him. He figured he'd spent enough time obsessing over Hermione and how she was feeling lately. He growled angrily and walked away from the door. He knew sleep would continue to evade him. He grabbed the closest decanter and walked to his study. If he was going to lose Hermione, and his pride, he might as well not lose the business as well, he thought. Sitting down at his desk he began pouring over his work. And that's where Harry Potter found him hours later.


	10. Chapter 10

"Malfoy." Harry cleared his throat uncomfortably as Draco looked up. His eyes were bloodshot and there were purple circles underneath from sleep deprivation. In front of him was a stack of papers, books spread open, and a half empty bottle of brandy.

"Potter. How did you get in here?" Draco asked surprised as he looked around. It seemed to Harry that Draco probably hadn't looked up from his work in hours.

"Your elf, Misty, let me in?" Harry raised his eyebrows.

"Right." Draco rubbed his forehead and filled his glass again. "Would you like a drink?" Draco offered tilting the bottle toward him.

"Ah, no thanks." Draco gave him a curt nod and sipped from his glass. He leaned back in his chair and waited for Harry to speak.

"I, um, well I wanted to see how you were doing." Harry said in a rush, his face flushing, and then, "Actually, yeah, can I have that drink. This is usually Ginny's thing and not mine." Draco filled the drink and handed it back still not speaking.

"Did she tell you to come?" Draco was exhausted. He wanted to get to the point.

"Ginny? No." Harry looked at his glass before taking a tentative sip.

"Hermione." Draco corrected flatly.

"Ah. Um, no. I, I just thought you might want to, talk? Maybe? We haven't really spoken much lately and I wanted to see how you were, I don't know, doing." It was clear to Draco how uncomfortable Harry was. He shifted in his seat and looked around nervously.

"I'm fine." Draco said cooley, narrowing his eyes. Why were all of Hermione's friends so bloody nosey? Blaise only listened to him when Draco asked, he didn't drop by unannounced to talk about feelings. _Gryffindors._

"Okay." Harry replied. Harry had never been good at talking about feelings and difficult personal interactions. It wasn't really his strong suit but he figured Draco might want to talk to _someone_ after what had happened with Hermione. If he didn't, that suited him fine too. They sat in silence for a few minutes, just sipping their brandy.

"How's Ginny?" Draco asked suddenly.

"She's great!" Harry replied a bit too brightly, eager for the conversation to resume.

"I imagine all the Weasley's must be in high spirits now that Ron is back?" Draco stared at his fireplace not looking at Harry.

"Yeah, they are." Draco nodded but didn't continue. "Draco, I'm sorry." Harry set his glass down on the desk and looked at Draco intently.

"For what?" Draco laughed humorlessly into his glass.

"For everything. I'm sorry that this happened. I'm sorry I got Hermione _that drunk_ last night and she said all that stuff to you." Draco's jaw clenched at his words.

"Granger knows her limits. It's her choice to ignore them." Draco replied gruffly into his glass. He still wasn't looking back at Harry.

"She-" Harry started.

"She blamed me for not saving her." Draco's words were barely a whisper, hurt peeking out from behind the cold facade of his face.

"I know." Harry bowed his head.

"She blamed me for my cruel Aunt Bella's torture. Doesn't she know by now that I hate myself for those years?" Draco turned to Harry and finally looked him in the eye. "Am I still that same person to all of you?" He asked Harry seriously.

"No Malfoy, you're not. I chose to forgive and forget years ago. I can't know what it was to live your life at that time. We were teenagers then and honestly Draco, when I think of this place, I remember that you saved me. You could have sold me out; you could have told Bellatrix who I was, but you didn't. I know it's a bit corny but I kind of see that as your first step in making things right." Draco agreed with him, what he was saying was a bit hokey but he appreciated it nonetheless. He nodded his head in gratitude and turned back toward the fireplace.

"You know Hermione didn't mean it, right?"

"I don't know that, Harry." He sipped the brandy slowly, enjoying the burn in his throat. "I've alway been in competition with a ghost and now he's alive. I feel her pushing me away every day." It was more than Draco had meant to admit but his head was swimming with brandy and exhaustion. Harry remained quiet as he waited for Draco to continue. "Maybe it's best to just postpone the wedding or just call it quits altogether." Draco tilted his glass back to swallow its contents whole in an attempt to keep the tears he felt welling in his chest from rising.

"Don't give Hermione a reason not to fight for you." Harry looked deadly serious. "If you push her away, you make her decision for her. You know she already had about a million pros and cons lists in her head and the easy choice isn't _you,_ Malfoy." Draco's eyes flashed dangerously at Harry's words. "But it _is the right choice._ " Draco was looked at him in shock. Had Harry Potter just said that he was a better choice for Hermione than Ron?

"What?" Was all Draco could manage to get out. Had he heard that right?

"I mean it, Draco. Ron and Hermione aren't really that compatible. They fight endlessly, they have completely different views on life and work ethic, and quite honestly, I've never seen Hermione happier than when she was with you. Sure, Ron and Hermione they had their moment, and it was great but Draco, cut yourself some slack. Hermione isn't some idiot who falls in love with the first handsome prat that comes along. It takes a very specific type of handsome prat to do that." Harry smirked.

"Harry Potter, did you just call me handsome?" Draco fluttered his lashes flirtatiously. "Maybe I chose to chase the wrong golden trio member…" Harry laughed.

"You wish." Draco shrugged and Harry continued, "All I'm saying is, maybe next time Hermione comes around to apologize, don't just shut the door in her face?" Harry quirked an eyebrow. Draco looked at him not saying anything for a moment.

"Fine." He rolled his eyes trying to mask his amusement.

"Fine." Harry clinked his glass with Draco's and finished his glass. "Whelp, I'm out of here. Are you going to be okay?"

"Yes, my darling." Draco replied lovingly.

"Is this going to be a thing now?" Harry moaned.

"Absolutely."

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"Nice work today." Brigid bounced up to Ron as he finished sweeping the floors. Her hair was thrown up in a messy bun and she had a bit of dust on her chin.

"Er, thanks." Ron's ears went red. Brigid made him nervous. He had worked with her a handful of times and she was unfailingly positive. It was nice to have that energy around but in addition to being strange and funny, she was actually quite pretty. He hadn't really noticed the first time he met her but now, it was impossible not to see it. Her blonde hair was a bright yellow-blonde and her wide eyes the color of emeralds. He sometimes caught himself watching her prance around, jumping down a flight of stairs, and cracking jokes with the customers. It was interesting for Ron to see her remain so upbeat knowing her family was slain in front of her. _How does she do it?_ He thought.

"Sooo…" Brigid seemed a bit nervous suddenly. "Do you, maybe, want to go to the Hogs Head to grab a drink?"

" _The Hogs Head?"_ Ron looked taken aback. "Why there?"

"I like Aberforth." She shrugged.

"Really? Even with all the weird goat stuff?" Ron asked.

"You don't have to go." She looked a bit less confident at this point.

"Uh, no." Ron stammered, realizing it must sound like he wasn't interested. "I want to. Let me, uh, let me grab my stuff." He shuffled to the back where George was sitting on a workbench reading. "Um, I'm going to leave if that's okay?" Ron hesitated and finished, "I'm going to have a drink with Brigid at the Hogs Head." George raised his eyebrow at Ron and grinned smugly.

"Well, well Ronald…" Ron sighed exasperatedly and ignored the question.

"Am I okay to leave or not?" Ron pressed.

"But, of course. You're free to do who- excuse me, _WHATever_ you want." Ron rolled his eyes.

"Very professional. That's your employee." He replied condescendingly, grabbing his jacket and bag from the other side of the bench and strode out. His heart thumped as he saw her waiting for him.

"Hey."

"Hey." She smiled brightly and led him out onto Diagon Alley. "It's easiest to apparate." Brigid grabbed his hand so they could apparate together. Ron's ears went hot again as he simultaneously worried about being splinched and if his hands were too sweaty.

"Okay." He focused. _Please don't get splinched, please don't get splinched._ He heard a pop and they were in Hogsmeade, standing outside the Hog's Head. Memories flashed across his brain. The first DA meeting, meeting Aberforth for the first time. He wondered if the passageway to Hogwarts was still open. Maybe Aberforth would pity him and let him sneak through to the kitchens.

"Ron?" Ron snapped his head up. "Yeah, sorry. Just thinking."

"About?"

"Food?" He laughed. "Sorry, I was actually wondering if the passageway from here to Hogwarts was open. And then I thought if it was, it might be nice to stop by the kitchens." Ron's appetite has slowly returned over the last few weeks and he began to feel a bit more like himself. Brigid giggled at his response.

"Really? Is that what you miss about Hogwarts?" She asked as she held the pub door open for him.

"Well, it certainly wasn't the classes or nearly dying each year." Ron couldn't help but notice that he was smiling. It had been awhile since conversation had felt genuine. It felt nice to be with someone who didn't constantly ask how he was feeling. He appreciated the support but he couldn't take the coddling.

"Aberforth!" Brigid yelled excitedly as she walked in, throwing her arms out to greet him. Ron nearly fell over as he watched a wide grin spread across Aberforth's face as he came to hug Brigid back. He had never in his life seen Aberforth so jolly.

"Ah little Brigid Parker. You haven't been in in a couple of weeks!" Ron watched this exchange in fascination.

"Well, I've had to pick up some extra shifts at the shop. Don't get me wrong, I can use the money but it is clearly cutting into my pub time and well, that's quite unacceptable."

"Agreed." Aberforth began to pour her a pint as she sat at the bar and noticed Brigid was not alone.

"Ronald Weasley?" Aberforth's eyebrows furrowed and he looked at Brigid.

"Yeah, he like, is back from the dead or something?" Brigid supplied. "All I know is if I was dead, and then wasn't, I would absolutely need a drink." Aberforth slid the first pint to Ron.

"I think you might be right." Aberforth continued. "I had heard that you were back. It's good to see you." Ron nodded taking a seat at the bar.

"Thanks." He replied taking a sip of his pint. "You too." After Aberforth gave Brigid her glass, he went to the back to attend to some chores.

"So, nearly dying each year huh?" Brigid smiled, picking up the conversation from when they were outside.

"Well, to be fair, fourth year was a bit slow for me. What about you?"

"No, no near death experiences really. Well, the Battle of Hogwarts, yes, but I don't really count that." Ron didn't know what to say. He felt so stupid at that moment. When had he lost his ability to hold a conversation? He felt relieved when Brigid continued.

"George tells me you are a Chudley Cannons fan?"

"Huge! Although, I haven't seen them in a while, of course. Hermione actually made me a book that had article clippings and stats over the last six years. So, I'm confident that I'm at least partially caught up. Are you a fan?" Ron briefly thought of Hermione. What was she doing right now?

"Well, I grew up in the muggle world so I didn't really have a team going into Hogwarts but when I found out their motto was 'Let's all just keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best?' I knew I found a team to support. " She chuckled, "Plus I look rather striking in orange." She straightened her back and puffed up her chest a little to make her point.

"I do not." Ron laughed, he ruffled his hair.

"Yeah, I imagine that red hair has its disadvantages." She reached up and lightly touched the end of his now-long locks. Ron's breath hitched. How long had it been since someone had touched him not to pity him and not to hurt him? As she pulled her hand away her fingers lightly grazed his neck. Ron did everything in his power not to close his eyes at the warmth. He pressed on trying not to get ahead of himself.

"It has its advantages as well though. For example, I don't have to introduce myself to anyone. They immediately know I'm a Weasley."

"I don't think you have to introduce yourself, in general." Brigid leaned in, her voice barely a whisper. "I don't know if you know this, but you're still quite famous." She smirked as she leaned back. Ron laughed into his beer.

"Do you need another?" Brigid asked pointing at his drink. Ron looked at it and considered whether he should stay.

"You know what, yeah. Let's do it. I don't work until noon tomorrow."

"Me neither." Brigid shot him a mischievous look which Ron wholeheartedly returned.

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After a few hours, it was safe to say Ron and Brigid were sufficiently tipsy.

"I've got to get home." Ron breathed in, dreading it. He was having such a great time with Brigid that he didn't want to leave.

"Yeah, it's getting quite late and I probably shouldn't keep drinking, this." She waved her hand a bottle of liquor Aberforth had put in front of them.

"What is it anyway?" Ron hiccuped. "It tastes like- like-"

"Cinnamon and shame." Brigid supplied hopping off her stool and grabbing her coat.

"Exactly."

"Aberforth! We are leaving!" She yelled and Aberforth came to the doorway of the back office to say goodbye. As they walked out, Ron tripped on a step and stumbled. Brigid caught him and stood him up straight.

"I don't think you should apparate." She laughed.

"Eh, I've been splinched before." She looked at him in bewilderment before noticing the goofy grin he had plastered on his face. "I'm clumsy, not wasted."

"Well, I guess this is goodbye!" She was dawdling. Ron looked at her unsure of what to do next. Did she want him to kiss her? Because he wanted to kiss her badly. He looked at her for a moment before bravely grabbing her face and kissing her lips lightly.

"Thank you for tonight." Ron whispered against her lips, his forehead against hers. Brigid responded by pulling him back down. She was much taller than the few other women he had kissed; he barely had to crane his neck to reach her. Her lips slid over his tentatively as she ran her hands through his hair and Ron took the chance to deepen the kiss. As he walked her against the brick wall of the pub, he pressed firmly against it, steadying both of them as his forearm rested near her head. His other hand was at her waist, pulling her close while his body pressed her against the wall.

"Alright kids. This is a family neighborhood." Aberforth's voice cut through the moment like a knife as the separated. He was standing at the entrance of the pub, eyebrows raised. Ron could feel his face burning with arousal and embarrassment. Ron looked at Brigid who wasn't meeting his eyes. Her face was flushed and she was wearing a half smile on her face and biting her lip. She was the first to speak.

"Ah, yes. Well, Ron, I'll see you at work tomorrow." She held out her hand to shake it. He shook it. "Goodnight to you both." And with that she was gone. Ron looked at Aberforth who was looking back at him sternly.

"Yeah, I am going to go too." Ron, motioning in the direction of where she had disappeared. He walked swiftly away, replaying what had just happened before apparating home.


	11. Chapter 11

**Hey all! Apologies for the delay. This is a bit of a short chapter. I ended to to include some more groveling Hermione but it'll have to wait until the next update. I know this is a Ron-heavy chapter but I had this in my head and needed to add it.**

Ron had a crush. An actual crush. He thought about Brigid as he lay on his bed. _His bed_. At his parents house. He sighed loudly. He needed his own place. He had to admit, the offer to live with Hermione was tempting. She was right, it was his house too but Ron had a feeling that Draco would not be pleased with the arrangement. Lately, he could see the strain in their relationship and he knew it was his fault. The selfish part of him, the part that despite his new crush, was still desperate to have Hermione back, was thrilled at the idea of the couple's demise. He had missed Hermione so much. He just wanted to lay with her again while she read one of her heavy books. He wanted to kiss her, to touch her, to more than just touch her. He swallowed at the thought. How close had he been to fulfilling his randy teenage fantasies before being ripped away from reality and thrown in a hole?

Normally, when his thoughts turned to physical intimacy with Hermione, he stopped himself. He didn't allow himself to think about her that way, to think about what could have been but tonight, he was drunk. He wondered idly how many men Hermione had been with. He assumed she had been with Draco, they were engaged so, it seemed likely. His stomach lurched with jealousy. Had she waited for Draco? He still didn't have a clear picture of how they had gotten together and Ginny was being coy for the first time in her life. Ron grit his teeth and tried to stop his thoughts from racing. Blurry images of Hermione and Draco in bed together raced across his mind.

"Enough." Ron growled to himself. He sat up and stared at his feet, gripping the edge of the bed. He hated that he was moping over Hermione still. How many years was it going to take to rid himself of these feelings? It had been over a decade since the Yule Ball and he was still sitting on the same bed, pining after her.

He knew he didn't have a chance with her, not anymore at least. He saw the way she was with Draco, how she looked at him, even if he knew she tried hard to hide it. At first, it killed him to see it. He would see red when Draco placed his hand on the small of Hermione's back or leaned to kiss her. In those moments he had wanted to break something, preferably Draco's face. But he had worked desperately to tamper his jealousy, knowing that if he kept it up, he'd push Hermione away for good.

And then there was Brigid. He smiled at the thought and flushed at how he had forward he had been. What had gotten into him? _The weird liquor Aberforth gave you_ the voice in his head responded. But it had been more than that. It had been years since he had felt pure excitement. Years since he could kiss a woman he liked. It had honestly been years since he felt interest in sex. _Sex._ He groaned. How many years had it been since he had stolen time with Lavender in the Room of Requirement? Did he even remember how to do anything? He certainly remembered how to kiss and, judging by her reaction, he seemed to still be good at it. What would have happened if Aberforth hadn't interrupted them?

He shut his eyes imagining how it had felt to have Brigid pressed against him. She had been taller than he had thought but she had still felt small in his arms. He remembered her grabbing him, for another kiss. Brigid was so beautiful and she had wanted him. Even if it was only for a moment. He opened his eyes at the thought. It was possible that this was only a one time thing he reminded himself although he hoped it wasn't. He didn't want to put pressure on her. He knew he was in a weird place emotionally and he wouldn't blame her if she wasn't interested in taking it further but he'd be damned if he didn't try.

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Ron went to work the next day, nervous and excited to see Brigid. He wanted to see if and how things may have changed so he knew what his next steps would be. He had specifically dressed himself with care today. Normally, he'd throw on whatever t-shirt and jean combo that was within his reach but today he stepped it up a bit. He had spent five whole minute staring at his wardrobe before begrudgingly accepting his nicest clothes were the ones Draco and Hermione had bought him while he was in the hospital. He slipped on a dark blue sweater that fit his coloring perfect and turned to look in the mirror. He had to admit, Draco did know how to dress. _Fucking Draco._ Even when he was trying to hate him, he couldn't.

Ron's palms were starting to become slick with sweat as he opened the door to the shop.

"You look nice." George sidled up to him as he walk to the back office to put his bag down.

"I guess." Ron shrugged trying not to blush and give himself away. He wanted to get back to the floor before Brigid got there. He was hoping to look as casual and relaxed as possible even though he was anything but that at the moment. He made his move to walk out, and George stopped him at the doorway.

"Why do you look so nice, Ronald?" He looked at him mischievously.

"Because this was the first thing my hand landed on when I was getting dressed." Ron lied. "Now can I get to work or should you continue paying me to talk to you about fashion?" George put his hands in front of him.

"By all means." George stepped aside to let him pass. As Ron tried to quickly get out of the back room, he looked around wondering the best place to perch up. Unfortunately, he wasn't looking ahead and ran directly into Brigid on her way in.

"OOF." Her elbow hit his stomach uncomfortably as she dropped her bag, items spilling across the floor. Ron was mortified. "I'm so sorry." He said in a rush as he went to help pick up the contents of her bag.

"It's my fault." Brigid said, smiling. "You warned me yesterday you were clumsy." She winked at him as she stood up. Ron's felt his face grow hot. This was certainly not the cool guy look he had been going for. "You look nice." She tugged at his sweater.

"Er, thanks. You too." Brigid wasn't wearing anything particularly striking, just an old pair of denim and a chudley cannons t-shirt.

"I told you, orange is my color." She laughed. "Well, I'm going to put my stuff in the back so…" Ron realized he was blocking her way still.

"Right. Sorry." He moved so that she could pass. As he watched her disappear into the back room, he caught George's eye. George raised an eyebrow knowingly.

"Shut up." Ron narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms childishly before walking away.

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The rest of their shift went by without much conversation between Brigid and Ron. They had been busy as it had been a Saturday and kids were out with their parents. Not to mention George was watching him the whole day. Ron had decided not to tell anyone about his kiss with Brigid until he needed to or she made it clear she wanted him to. He figured it was her business as much as his.

"Alright guys. I'll finish up in here. You can take off." George told them an hour after they closed. Ron's heart started beating quickly as he started thinking how he could ask Brigid to hang out. Would it be weird if he asked her to dinner? How could he do it without George seeing? Did she even want to go to dinner with him? He walked to the back room and loitered a bit waiting for her to join him.

As she walked in, Ron felt words rush from his mouth without thinking. "Wannagotodinnerwithme?"

"What?" She smirked. Ron breathed in deeply and tried again.

"Okay, that was weird." Ron said mostly to himself. "Are you hungry?"

"Always."

"Would you like to eat with me?"

"Um, sure?" she tilted her head in confusion.

"Er-That was stupid." Ron shook his head. "I want to know if you would like to have dinner with me tonight."

"I thought you'd never ask." Ron broke out in a grin. He had successfully asked out a woman for probably the first time in his life.

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	12. Chapter 12

Hermione had a plan. A non-traditional plan granted but a plan nonetheless. She gathered up her courage. This was going to make her vulnerable, more vulnerable than she had ever been. Draco opened the door and she almost lost her nerve. Before he could say anything, she pushed past him, afraid she would shut the door in her face again.

"Where is Abraxas' pensieve?" She demanded.

"Good morning." Draco said in response, raising his eyebrow. She was wearing a floral dress that was enticingly short.

"Is it here?" She asked again.

"Why would you want to look at his memories?" Draco looked disgusted. "You know, he specifically asked to _not_ be buried with it so we could remember how this family was supposed to act? Bloody insane."

"I don't want to look at his memories Draco, I want to show you mine." Draco tensed, unsure of why she wanted him to do that. Other people's memories were considered extremely personal, rarely looked at outside of law enforcement.

"Draco, please. I need to show you this and if you still don't want anything to do with me, then…" She trailed off, unable to finish for fear that it'd become real. He sighed.

"Okay. Come on." Draco led the way upstairs to the room where he kept all of his family heirlooms locked up. He didn't really have the desire to give them away but he also didn't want dark artifacts scattered throughout the manor either. Draco mumbled a couple of spells to unlock the door to the room the pensieve was held. "It's in here."

Hermione realized as she stepped through the doorway that this was one of many rooms in the manor she hadn't been in. It seemed strange that after all this time, there were still places to be explored in his home. The pensieve sat in the corner of the room, shimmering with smoke. As expected, it was extremely ornate, like most of the Malfoys' property. Carved into the metal were emerald snakes with red eyes as well as a large Malfoy insignia. She pulled a vial out of her jacket and held it out to him. He took it hesitantly, turning it over in his hand.

"I have to warn you. I modified them so you could understand how I was feeling at the time so it won't be the same experience as you may be used to." She looked at him anxiously.

"Hermione, this really isn't necessary." He tried to hand the vial back but she closed her hand over his.

"Please." He studied her face for a moment before turning to the pensieve warily. As he poured in her memories, he wondered what he was about to experience. What would she want to show him that she couldn't just tell him? Taking a deep breath, he plunged into the memory.

He was standing on Platform 9 ¾. He looked around to see Hermione's bushy head in front of him. He felt excited but mostly really nervous. Ah, right, the feelings she had mentioned he reminded himself. She was standing with Mr. and Mrs. Granger, kissing them goodbye and walking to the train. He followed her. He couldn't help but smile at little Hermione. Had she always been that adorable? He saw the 11 year old version of himself follow her onto the train, and he hurried to catch them.

"Argh!" He heard Hermione yell as she tried hoisting her heavy trunk above her. He watched as his younger self moved to help push the trunk up.

"Thanks!" She smiled brightly as she spun around. Her heart sped up as she looked at him. His white blond hair was slicked back, every hair in place. His dark robes made him look statuesque. Draco was aware of the butterflies in her stomach. Younger Draco smirked at her and moved on. She watched as he walked away. Draco hadn't remembered that moment. The memory dissolved and Kings Cross was replaced with the Great Hall.

"Draco Malfoy." Professor McGonagall called out. Hermione, who was perched at the Gryffindor Table already, perked up. He knew she was excited to finally know his name and see where he ended up. The hat barely touched his head before shouting, "Slytherin." Hermione's face fell, her emotions replaced with fear. It was weird experiencing her feelings. She shifted from having a minor crush on him to alarm at his placement. The memory shifted.

They were in The Great Hall again but this time, it was the Yule Ball. Hermione was standing next to Viktor Krum wearing a periwinkle dress and looking beautiful. He had remembered being stunned by her appearance that night, and apparently, she had noticed. He followed her and Krum as they entered the ballroom for the Victor's first dance. She looked over at 14-year old Draco, his mouth slightly agape as he stared at her. He felt her heart swell with pride at his reaction. The memory shifted.

Hogwarts again. It was clearly after the battle. Draco watched 18-year old Hermione moving fallen rocks and repairing a wall with her wand. Ron and Harry were on the other side of the hall clearing rubble away from the door. He watched himself walk into The Great Hall wearing blue jeans, t-shirt, and trainers. Muggle clothes, he had thought at the time. His presence was largely unnoticed by everyone except Hermione. She looked over from her work and her heart quicken. He could tell she was suspicious of him but that wasn't all he understood. She was also excited and curious.

"Granger." He had said gruffly as he approached her.

"Malfoy." She responded turning away. He knew she wanted to talk to him but stopping herself from saying more.

"Can I help?" 18-year old Draco looked nervous and unsure of himself. Hermione turned to face him again and raised her eyebrow at him. She began to open her mouth when a shout from across the hall stopped them.

"Oi! Get away from her, Malfoy." Ron was barrelling toward him. Hermione's heart warm at the sight of Rpn but it was twinged with annoyance.

"He's trying to help, Ronald."

"I don't trust him." Ron looked at him scathingly.

"Honestly, Ronald I highly doubt Malfoy is going to try to hex me right here!" Her heart was full of hope as she looked at him. Draco wondered how she could still have some much faith in him after all the years he had bullied her. "Besides," she turned to look at younger Draco, "He knows I'd best him." He felt her confidence in that statement.

"I'm right here!" He spat nastily. "You can speak directly to me."

"Can we, Malfoy?" Ron stepped closer to Draco menacingly.

"Look Weasley, this was my school too. I'm trying to help. If you've got it covered, I'm happy to go back to the dungeons, get my stuff, and leave." Hermione's heart jumped, hoping he wouldn't leave.

"Draco, no. Stay and help me fix this wall. Harry, Ron, go back over there. I think we all know I am capable of handling myself." They obeyed and he watched himself sneer at them as they walked away.

"Thanks." He replied, barely above a whisper.

"You're welcome." They continued in silence for a minute.

"I'm sorry, Gran-Hermione." He said finally, not meeting her eye.

"I know." She replied, not breaking from her work. Draco hadn't noticed at the time but she was smiling. The memory shifted.

"How does Ron feel about this lunch?" Draco asked leaning on the table. This had been their first outing alone.

"He's just happy someone else will listen to me talk about politics." She laughed as she un-folded her napkin. Because of the pensieve, he could tell how comfortable she was with Ron and he could also tell she was nervous. She looked at Draco hesitantly.

"What?"

"Hows Astoria?" Draco noticed a small twinge of jealous struck her.

"Ah, she's alright. I'm not sure it's going anywhere." He said dismissively.

"Why's that?"

"She's a bit shallow. Which is fine but not something I want long term. The sex is great though. So there's something." Hermione flushed with embarrassment and cleared her throat. Draco thought maybe he was just hoping to feel desire come from her but there was no mistaking it. Hermione was thinking about him and sex. He had never thought Hermione had ever imagined him that way before. The memory shifted again.

Hermione was looking at herself in the mirror of her room wearing the lacy blue set of lingerie she had worn the night he took her virginity. Was this that memory? He wondered. His heart picked up in speed. Was that him or her?

Hermione sighed. "Get it together Hermione." She told herself. "It's just Draco. Draco." He was certain now that the majority of the eagerness was coming from her. She lay back on her bed looking at the ceiling in an attempt to calm herself down. A wave of nostalgia washed over her and someone Draco knew she was remembering the first time she had seen him. The first memory she had shown him. The memory shifted and he was standing back in the present in front of the pensieve.

"Do you understand now?" Hermione asked quietly. "Do you understand now how I feel about you? How I've always felt? Ron was just, comfortable. You are so much more." Draco was across the room in seconds. He wrapped his arms around her in a tight hug before grabbing her face to roughly kiss her. She responded immediately feeling her worries melt away.

"I'm so sorry, Draco. I didn't mean what I said. It was so awful and I feel so ashamed of myself." She choked out in a dry sob.

"Just shut up and kiss me, will you?" He pulled her close again, pulling her mouth to his again. "I missed you so much," he murmured into her neck as he nibbled the flesh there. She gasped in response and tugged at his blonde locks.

"Draco, I- oh my god." Draco had dropped to his knees and was pushing up her dress. Hermione's knees started to buckle as his hand ran up the back of her legs and his mouth planted kisses all over her thighs. He carefully pulled her lingerie down. It was the same color as the first night they were together.

"Minx" He growled as he buried his face between her thighs. Hermione's breath caught in her throat as she tried to remain standing. His delicious tongue was doing heavenly things to her. She could barely breathe.

"Draco, I need-" Before she could finish her sentence he had swiftly pinned her to the floor underneath him. He kissed her lustfully, clasping her hands above her head with one hand as the other made quick work of his pants. He pressed into her swiftly, feeling her warm surround him. Hermione rose to meet him, her legs wrapped tightly around him.

Draco felt possessed in that moment. No thought other than Hermione could break through his mind. He had been terrified they were over. Terrified that she would choose Ron. The thought of her with Ron made him snarl animalistically and he grabbed her hips possessively. Hermione responded by pulling his hair and raking her nails across his back. Draco hissed before grabbing her for another kiss.

They were lost in their lust, in their need. Her lips were most certainly bruised at this point but she didn't care. Hermione wasn't sure how long they pushed and pulled against each other but when they reached their peak neither could move. They lay tangled together, slick with sweat, panting until they succumbed to sleep.


End file.
